It’s All about the Economics

In the end all waste can be reused, upcycled, or recycled, avoiding the need to burden our planet with the constant extraction of raw materials and the introduction of synthetic ones. The challenge in all of this—whether you are trying to limit your purchasing or process waste through circular solutions—is one of economics.

In terms of waste generation, if we seriously limit our buying or exclusively buy used durable goods, we will likely negatively affect our economy, making it harder to keep our growing population gainfully employed. In terms of waste processing, circular solutions depend on waste separation, which is typically more expensive than simply burning or burying waste.

The question we must grapple with is this: Are we willing to live with moderated economic growth in exchange for a healthier planet? We can make environmental progress in the short term without sacrificing our staggering economic growth, but a long-term, sustainable solution will require fundamental changes to our culture, economy, and individual perspectives. Do we want to live in a world where we are actively destroying our planet to fuel a need to acquire physical objects? Or do we want to rethink how we create and handle our waste, making possible a more balanced—and perhaps even happier—existence?

The best part of attempting to deal with the problem of garbage is that it is something we can do immediately, as individuals. We are, after all, the root cause of garbage.

To outsmart waste, we have to understand what it is and where it comes from; then we can rethink the ways in which we create waste and what, ultimately, we can do with it.