Waste Culture

I'm thinking about writing a book. The book is going to be about waste. I've read a few books about it, but I really haven't read a lot from a faith perspective. Not sure whether fiction or non-fiction would be better.

Aaron and I started noticing the waste our one little flight generated. At the security check, they had plastic bags. The suggestion with the bag was--empty the contents of your pockets into this bag, and then put this bag in your carry-on and you will save time at the security check. I took one, and then I started thinking. The suggestion convinced me to do something different than I would normally do. Normally I would just chuck my contents in my bag, or toss them into a bin. This time, I took the bag. Not a big deal, really--it's just one bag.

I wonder how many thousands of people made the same choice as me that day. I wonder what they will do with their disposable bags.

As we had multiple snacks/cups of water served on the plane, I once again thought about waste. I wondered how much waste our one 8 hour flight together generated. Thankfully, the airline at least gave a semblance of environmental care. Cups and cans, and cardboard boxes were all taken up separately, and in theory they will be recycled.

I just bought some paper towels the other day called "Seventh Generation". They were made from recycled paper. On the back there was a break down of the amount of waste that would be prevented if every family in america bought one pack. I'm a sucker for advertising at times. I bought two. When I opened the package, one of the first things I noticed was that the 3 pack of towels weren't individually wrapped. I wonder about our obsession with individual wrapping.

As we walked down the sidewalk toward our domicile early Friday morning in Amsterdam, I noticed the trash. Doesn't seem like the Dutch generate a lot of waste--small bags, and very neatly placed on the sidewalk.

Take a look at the amount of waste you have been responsible for today--is there anything you can do different tomorrow? I'd love to hear your stories.