HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The throw-away society is a generalised description of human social concept strongly influenced by
consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the su ...
, whereby the society tends to use items once only, from disposable packaging, and consumer products are not designed for reuse or lifetime use. The term describes a critical view of
overconsumption Overconsumption describes a situation where a consumer overuses their available goods and services to where they can't, or don't want to, replenish or reuse them. In microeconomics, this may be described as the point where the marginal cost of ...
and excessive production of short-lived or
disposable A disposable (also called disposable product) is a product designed for a single use after which it is recycled or is disposed as solid waste. The term is also sometimes used for products that may last several months (e.g. disposable air filte ...
items over durable goods that can be repaired, but at its origins, it was viewed as a positive attribute.


Origin of the term

In its 1 August 1955 issue, ''Life'' published an article titled "Throwaway Living". This article has been cited as the source that first used the term "throw-away society".


Rise of packaging waste

The last century of economic growth saw both increased production and increased product waste. Between 1906 (the start of New York City
waste collection Waste collection is a part of the process of waste management. It is the transfer of solid waste from the point of use and disposal to the point of treatment or landfill. Waste collection also includes the curbside collection of recyclable ...
s) and 2005 there was a tenfold rise in "product waste" ( packaging and old products), from per person per year. Containers and packaging now represent 32 percent of all
municipal solid waste Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste ...
. Non-
durable goods In economics, a durable good or a hard good or consumer durable is a good that does not quickly wear out or, more specifically, one that yields utility over time rather than being completely consumed in one use. Items like bricks could be consi ...
(defined as products in use for less than three years) constitute 27 percent, while durable goods comprise 16 percent.


Food service and disposable food packaging

Disposable tableware Disposable tableware includes all disposable tableware like *disposable cups made of paper, plastic, coated paper, * plates *tablecloths, *placemats * plastic cutlery, *paper napkins, etc. These products are prevalent in fast food restaurants, ...
was a key part of the business strategy of chain fast food restaurants in the US.McDonald's ad "Feed the Wastebaskets"
(video), training children to bus disposable packagin
(alternate link)
/ref> Fast food chains could cut costs by convincing consumers through advertising campaigns to carry their own tableware to a waste bins, to avoid the labor of clearing tables.
/ref> The savings in wages offset the cost of the tableware. In 2002,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
began taking action to reduce the use of disposable tableware at institutions and businesses, and to reduce the use of plastic bags. Yearly, the nation of 17.7 million people was producing of disposable tableware waste and of waste plastic bags, and increasing measures have been taken in the years since then to reduce the amount of waste. In 2013, Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) banned outright the use of disposable tableware in the nation's 968 schools, government agencies and hospitals. The ban is expected to eliminate of waste yearly. In
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, laws banning use of disposable food and drink containers at large-scale events have been enacted. Such a ban has been in place in Munich, Germany since 1991, applying to all city facilities and events. This includes events of all sizes, including very large ones (
Christmas market A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...
, Auer-Dult Faire,
Oktoberfest The Oktoberfest (; bar, Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or ...
and Munich City Marathon). For small events of a few hundred people, the city has arranged for a corporation offer rental of crockery and dishwasher equipment. In part through this regulation, Munich reduced the waste generated by Oktoberfest, which attracts tens of thousands of people, from 11,000 metric tons in 1990 to 550 tons in 1999. China produces about 57 billion pairs of
single-use A disposable (also called disposable product) is a product designed for a single use after which it is recycled or is disposed as solid waste. The term is also sometimes used for products that may last several months (e.g. disposable air filte ...
chopstick Chopsticks ( or ; Pinyin: ''kuaizi'' or ''zhu'') are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks of Chinese origin that have been used as kitchen and eating utensils in most of East and Southeast Asia for over three millennia. They are held in the ...
s yearly, of which half are exported. About 45 percent are made from trees – about 3.8 million of them – mainly cotton wood,
birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...
, and spruce, the remainder being made from
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
. Japan uses about 24 billion pairs of these disposables per year, and globally about 80 billion pairs are thrown away by about 1.4 million people. Reusable chopsticks in restaurants have a lifespan of 130 meals. In Japan, with disposable ones costing about 2 cents and reusable ones costing typically $1.17, the reusables better the $2.60 breakeven cost. Campaigns in several countries to reduce this waste are beginning to have some effect.


Waste and socioeconomic status

Waste from disposable products is often shipped from richer to poorer nations, causing
environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
and social problems for
developing nation A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
s. Most notable are the large shipments of trash from North America and Western Europe to Africa and Asia due to the relatively low cost of disposal. By the 1990s, over half of all nations in Africa have faced negative externalities from
toxic waste Toxic waste is any unwanted material in all forms that can cause harm (e.g. by being inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin). Mostly generated by industry, consumer products like televisions, computers, and phones contain toxic chemi ...
dumped by richer countries. Waste, both toxic and non-toxic is often dumped without
safety regulations Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...
. It is thrown in unlined and unregulated landfills where it contaminates soil and water, and even burnt, which circulates toxins in the air. Recently,
electronic waste Electronic waste or e-waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Inform ...
shipped to
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
has increased due to higher consumption of electronics by North America and Europe, with hundreds of shipments of old electronics dropped off at
Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
, Nigeria, every month. A significantly large percentage of the trash being hazardous waste shipped with the "explicit intent of cheap (and unsafe) disposal". China also receives huge amounts of waste, often toxic material, averaging 1.9 million tons per year, because companies find it cheaper to ship garbage away rather than dispose of it themselves.


Food waste

In 2004, a
University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...
study indicates that forty to fifty percent of all edible food never gets eaten. Every year $43 billion worth of edible food is estimated to be thrown away.


The rise of mass consumption in America

Following the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, America experienced a boom in mass consumption. There was a sharp increase in suburban life, disposable packaging, and convenience goods as well as the development of new plastics. Throughout World War II, it became a popular mentality that restricting the types of products consumed during the war by closely following the
rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...
put into effect by the United States Government was a way to help the wartime effort and aid America in victory. The promises of manufacturers that the effort that Americans put in during the war would then yield luxurious goods once the war ended assisted in deepening the belief of the American public in supporting rationing. Once the war ended, manufacturers held true to those sentiments promoted during the war. When the term "throwaway living" was first coined by ''Life'' magazine, the magazine used the phrase in a positive way: one that depicted a life that was easier and still economical for the home's caretaker. This led to certain Americans viewing thrifting as "un-American", which was a stark contrast to how American society saw thrifting before the war. This rise in consumption-led American society is what allowed America to become a throw-away society. The practice of
planned obsolescence In economics and industrial design, planned obsolescence (also called built-in obsolescence or premature obsolescence) is a policy of planning or designing a good (economics), product with an artificially limited Product lifetime, useful life o ...
, the act of creating products with the intention of those products needed a replacement, became widespread. In addition to planned obsolescence, it was common for products to be slightly changed every year to encourage people to purchase a newer version, even when not necessary.


Women's interaction with the start of American throw-away society

Women had long been the primary shoppers for the household and many of the ads that promoted these disposable and convenience goods also made women their target audience. In the aforementioned ''Life'' magazine article, it specifically mentioned that "no housewife need bother" in regards to extensive household chores because disposable products will cut down on the cleaning time required. Women in these middle-class homes began earning an income in order to be able to purchase more of these convenience goods. Some did this through the means of finding a more traditional job, but many also turned to
multi-level marketing Multi-level marketing (MLM), also called network marketing or pyramid selling, is a controversial marketing strategy for the sale of products or services in which the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling th ...
businesses such as
Tupperware Tupperware is an American home products line that includes preparation, storage, and serving products for the kitchen and home. In 1942, Earl Tupper developed his first bell-shaped container; the brand products were introduced to the public in 1 ...
to supplement their husband's income. Tupperware encouraged women to sell as many Tupperware products as possible, so as the brand increased in popularity, the number of plastic goods in American homes did too. Outside of direct sales, it contributed to consumption because the women who sold through Tupperware had the incentive that they would receive household appliances once they reached the sales goal set by the company.


Early forms of pushback in America

Despite it being initially viewed as a positive attribute to strive for, at least early as 1967, some companies began separating themselves from other American advertisers. In a 1967 edition of the ''New York Times'', an article discussing plans for expansion for the leather goods company, Mark Cross, used a slogan from a then recently published Mark Cross Advertisement: "It's a throwaway society, man. Buy it. Break it. Chuck it. Replace it. Do you believe that? Mark Cross is not for you." The growing company was trying to expand off of marketing long-lasting products rather than disposable goods.


Planned obsolescence

"Planned obsolescence" is a manufacturing philosophy developed in the 1920s and 1930s, when mass production became popular. The goal is to make a product or part that will fail, or become less desirable over time or after a certain amount of use. Vance Packard, author of ''
The Waste Makers ''The Waste Makers'' is a 1960 book on consumerism by Vance Packard. It was bestselling when it was released. The book argues that people in the United States consume a lot more than they should and are harmed by their consumption. Summary One r ...
'' (1960), called this "the systematic attempt of business to make us wasteful,
debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...
-ridden, permanently discontented individuals".


Durability of goods

Producers make goods disposable rather than durable so that consumers must continue to repurchase the good, earning the producer a steady supply of customers, rather than a one-time purchase. Profit is maximized for the firm when the usefulness of a good is "uneconomically short", because firms can spend the least amount possible creating a nondurable good, which they sell repeatedly to the customer. Goods are often replaced even before their usefulness runs out. The perceived
durability Durability is the ability of a physical product to remain functional, without requiring excessive maintenance or repair, when faced with the challenges of normal operation over its design lifetime. There are several measures of durability in us ...
of a good in a throwaway society is often less than its physical durability. For example, in fast fashion, consumers buy the latest, novelty item because producers market styles that pass with the seasons. There is pressure on producers to advertise an increased number of "seasons", creating new styles so consumers can update their wardrobes often by buying cheap and flimsy, yet stylish clothes to keep up with current fashion trends. Products that once were considered durable are now almost exclusively disposable, so it is more difficult for consumers who want a durable version to find anywhere selling one. The shift to disposable was ostensibly for better convenience or hygiene, even if the inconvenience of using a durable version is very slight, or there is no proven increase in hygiene. This can lead to higher costs over time, more waste produced, more resources used, and lower quality goods. Not only has there been a movement by manufacturers towards goods that are less durable and not maintainable, producers have also withheld technology that would make common goods more durable, such as in the manufacture of light bulbs.


Attitude of the Catholic Church

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
frequently speaks about a "throwaway culture" in which unwanted items and unwanted people, such as the unborn, the elderly, and the poor, are discarded as waste. In his encyclical ''
Laudato si' ''Laudato si (''Praise Be to You'') is the second encyclical of Pope Francis. The encyclical has the subtitle "on care for our common home". In it, the pope critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental degradatio ...
'', he discusses pollution, waste, the lack of recycling, and the destruction of the Earth as symptoms of this throwaway culture. Francis stated that in a throwaway culture, even human lives are seen as disposable. He also cited the dangers of this culture in connection with
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
, saying, "A change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed on the part of everyone, moving away from attitudes of defensiveness and fear, indifference and
marginalization Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...
– all typical of a throwaway culture – towards attitudes based on a culture of
encounter Encounter or Encounters may refer to: Film *''Encounter'', a 1997 Indian film by Nimmala Shankar * ''Encounter'' (2013 film), a Bengali film * ''Encounter'' (2018 film), an American sci-fi film * ''Encounter'' (2021 film), a British sci-fi film * ...
, the only culture capable of building a better, more just and fraternal world."


See also

* Circular economy *
Consumer education Consumer education is the preparation of an individual to be capable of making informed decisions when it comes to purchasing products in a consumer culture. It generally covers various consumer goods and services, prices, what the consumer can e ...
*
Design life The design life of a component or product is the period of time during which the item is expected by its designers to work within its specified parameters; in other words, the life expectancy of the item. It is not always the actual length of tim ...
*
Ethical consumerism Ethical consumerism (alternatively called ethical consumption, ethical purchasing, moral purchasing, ethical sourcing, or ethical shopping and also associated with sustainable and green consumerism) is a type of consumer activism based on the con ...
*
Freeganism Freeganism is an ideology of limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources, particularly through recovering wasted goods like food. The word "freegan" is a portmanteau of "free" and "vegan". While vegans ...
*
Litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups ...
*
Product life Product lifetime or product lifespan is the time interval from when a product is sold to when it is discarded. Product lifetime is slightly different from service life because the latter consider only the effective time the product is used. It is ...
**
Service life A product's service life is its period of use in service. Several related terms describe more precisely a product's life, from the point of manufacture, storage, and distribution, and eventual use. Service life has been defined as "a product li ...
*
Source reduction Source reduction is activities designed to reduce the volume, mass, or toxicity of products throughout the life cycle. It includes the design and manufacture, use, and disposal of products with minimum toxic content, minimum volume of material, and ...
* Sustainable product *
Zero waste Zero waste is a set of principles focused on waste prevention that encourages redesigning resource life cycles so that all products are reused. The goal of this movement is to avoid sending trash to landfills, incinerators, or the ocean. Current ...


References

{{Fast culture Waste management concepts Waste of resources Consumerism