Welcome to the course blog for Waste, Politics, and the Environmental Crisis! We recommend choosing a category on the right to see all posts on a specific theme.
Plastic Bottles
Every year Americans use approximately 50 billion plastic water bottles. A product that is well known to be harmful to the environment as well as humans. I propose that we replace plastic bottles/liquid containers with glass ones or replace the large majority of them. This would include energy drinks, all alcoholic beverages, milks, juices, etc. Any drink that is purchased in a store and is often packaged in a plastic bottle.. Glass can be recycled indefinitely and does not release any toxic chemicals or micro-pieces that plastic does. The arguments made for glass being harmful for the environment are the minerals required to make it along with the co2 emissions it produces in production as well as shipping. Already glass bottles are up to 30% made from recycled glass, if we are able to recycle all glass bottlesWith having a designated bin separate from other recyclables there could be a collection system that collects them and brings them to places to be reshaped and sent out for selling once again. If businesses, especially smaller businesses had a system where you could return bottles once you’re done (Allandale Farm in Boston, MA has this system for some products) this would bypass the outside requirements for collection for some establishments.
Plastic bottles are profitable with it costing between 15 and 65 cents to make and are sold with them costing typically around 1.50 – 2.00 USD. Glass on the other hand is more expensive, part of the reason why plastic is used much more often than glass, however the current usage of plastic bottles is not sustainable given that the vast majority are not recycled, they don’t go away, and are very harmful to the planet. Another reason glass is thought to not be as good as plastic is that it breaks easily, but considering the impacts it has on people and the environment I think it is not such a huge ask for people to just be more careful not to break them.
So in short; replace plastic bottles with glass ones, have glass bottle collection systems so none gets wasted, be able to return used ones to stores, and businesses need to be ok with not making a bigger profit margin.
Utopian Clothing Practices
In a utopian world with little to no waste associated with clothing, there would need to be a significant de-emphasizing of production and a focus instead on repairs, alterations, and upcycling or downcycling. Clothing is one place where this could be done with perhaps less innovation than other items. Decreasing the production of new garments would be the most significant change to the current way of doing things, and also one of the most impactful. If there is less new stuff being produced, choosing to alter, mend, and pass down or acquire second-hand clothing would be much easier. The best way to encourage all of these practices is to make them the easiest option for individuals.
Corporations are another situation. In our current capitalist system, corporations would likely be unwilling to produce significantly less, even if they could sell it for more. If the goal of businesses was instead to produce valuable and useful items rather than just make a profit, there would likely be a lot less resistance to a high-quality low quantity production approach.
The Dismissal of Graphite & Ink
As technology continues to adapt and change, along with the accessibility of online documents and other sources to create a digital footprint, the less and less the need of graphite and ink becomes as everything has slowly gone onto the computer. Photoshop, Adobe, ArtBreeder, all are current and popular ways of creating art. So, what is the future of art? Will everything be on holographic screens where people can touch, draw and write without the need of physical utensils? If you’ve seen Iron Man (the first one with Robert Downey Jr.), Tony Stark has these interactive holograms that he uses instead of pencil and paper. Less mess, less clutter, easily stored files, the possibility of the future. But what are some of the problems? Hackers and digital issues are a constant fear, the need to try and fix before anything happens is a very large market for Cyber Security, which will only grow in the face of advancing technology. Corrupt files, lost files, anything can happen and without a physical copy. So, the question is what would happen in the dismissal of graphite and ink? Would we thrive? Or would we fall? How expensive and luxurious will pencils and markers become? Or will they become completely obsolete?
Utopian/speculative waste prompt
The readings for this week speculate on waste in futuristic or utopian societies. In doing so, they force us to reflect on current waste practices. Following on this theme, choose some form of waste, and briefly speculate on how, in a more socially just society, it could be organized or managed differently. If that’s too general, here are some more focused prompts to help with brainstorming:
In a utopian society, who would do the (perhaps literal) shit work?
Could specific forms of “waste” be reconceptualized as a positive thing in a utopian society? (Think about what Morris wrote about glassmaking, art, etc.)
Is the idea of a “circular economy” the main goal to strive for? What is left out (or even dystopian) in such visions?
If you’re arguing that a particular material or type of waste shouldn’t exist, what would replace it, or make it no longer needed?
Audio Junkie – The Tale of an E-waste Hoarder
Headphones, earbuds, none are safe from the hands of the Audio Junkie. One side of the headphone/earbud doesn’t work? Put it in the drawer, not in the trash because “what if” it’s needed if the new pair gets lost or broken? Technology nowadays is so expensive for great-good quality, and inexpensive for meh quality, both of which are great for those who have access to them. But the Audio Junkie? No, no. See, they are also the Audio Assassin, able to kill 2 “high quality” headphones in the span of 5-8 years just by listening to music on a constant basis for hours at a time, and 3 gaming headsets for constant use and accidental droppings. How has our junkie earned this title? From their parents, of course. They’ve had the same pair of headphones for over 8 years, sure they barely use them, but that’s no excuse. If they can make their headsets last that long, so can our junkie. True? False! Headphones are designed to last for a decent amount of time; however, they are meant to be eventually replaced like many other things. Sometimes these headphones are advertised to have a longer life span than what that person got out of it. Our junkie for example had a pair of headphones that were brand new, completely fine one day and then all of a sudden in a few weeks the audio began to cut out and act weird. Well, that shouldn’t be happening, especially when the headphones were over 50$, but it did. After that, the headphones started working but the audio jack for calls and a mic stopped working and began to cut in and out constantly making them sound like a busted-up robot stuck in a bad 80s dance party. Did they get rid of these headphones? No! They went in the drawer because “just in case” they might need them, due to that “what if” portion that scratches their brain. 2 fallen soldiers are placed inside drawers, one that lasted from middle school to high school, and then another pair that lasted from high school to last year. Now, the junkie won’t deny that both headphones were of good quality, and they got many years out of them, but that hasn’t stopped their parents (father) from making fun jabs. Where the true “assassin” title comes in, is the gaming headsets. One died of old age as they had the headset from their 12 birthday to the beginning of high school. Afterwards, the new headset died a little over a year ago, and finally the previous headset from their current that randomly died out of the blue, despite being barely used. Has our junkie thrown out any of these broken sets? No! Even the busted robot mic is still somewhere in their room, probably under a dresser or something. Why? Simple: “what if”. And yes, our Audio Junkie is me. I am the Audio Assassin.
Bedding wrapping
Buying bedding in bulk often comes with a large price tag and an even bigger bag of plastic wrapped around it. Personally, I don’t buy bedding pellets as they’re typically a bit too rough for rats and I don’t trust my ferrets to not knock all of it out instead of letting them cause chaos however they like. Instead, I buy soft bedding, usually the Kaytee brand for my rats as it expands and is much better than wood shavings. I know very little of what actually happens to the bags once I’m done using them and place them in the recycling, but I can’t help but feel like I’m recycling something that isn’t meant to be recycled. The bedding itself on the back of the packaging claims “Clean & Cozy (TM) bedding is made from ingredients that don’t contain harmful chemicals or by-products. Instead, the bedding is a super-soft, colorfast bedding that is safe for your pets and won’t stain their cage. These products reduce the amount of waste material that ends up in the landfill. How do they do it? We get more out of our resources by using discarded remnants and trimmings from other hygienic products which may otherwise end up in landfills.” 
These packages are very condensed, unfortunately the plastic is sturdy, but not sturdy enough to resist the animals that bite and rip at the plastic (ferrets). Now, I looked all over my package without trying to spill any of it and didn’t see a recycle sign. I’m hoping I haven’t been recycling something that is garbage. Their website also doesn’t say which is very frustrating, so I suppose all I can do is hope that I’ve been disposing of the empty plastic bag correctly.
Marginal Place
Marginal Place
It is the storage room in our mod. There are 8 rooms in the mod and on top that there is the storage room. In fact, it is a giant trash bin. There are boxes, luggage and beds and mattress in there. Unlike the rest of the house the storage room is heated. The existence of storage room motivates people to order more items and leave the boxes in there.
I have seen storages off campus too. When moved to this county and the exitance of storage shocked me the most. In rural areas like Amherst there are big house and I believe there is no need for a storage. Apart from many rooms, people have garages too. But that doesn’t stop them from storing more items in the storages.
Green waste
Maybe it is a bold move. I chose water as a ‘green’ item. When we wash the dishes or do our laundry, we use water and this water goes to waste, but not all of it. If the water goes the field, it is absorbed. And it is not totally wasted. We use laundry detergent and dish soap. These are the chemicals that are used. But water itself is a green object.
According to some reports at least two billion people around the world do not have access to a clean water supply. This affects individuals’ lives in more ways than one and can often lead to life threatening issues.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates and engineering firm Janicki Bioenergy are currently at the forefront of the most recent groundbreaking advances in water science by discovering a way to turn feces into clean drinking water.
A machine called the “Omniprocessor” boils sewage, which is divided into water vapor and dry waste. The dry waste is then burned at an extremely high temperature in order to create steam that powers the generator. After the water is boiled off of the sewage, it is filtered to produce clean drinking water.
What goes to recycling bin?
Boxes, coffee cups and plastic bags are object that I usually in the recycling bin. The standard cardboard box is made of paper from recycled boxes or the pulp of trees. The final paperboard consists of layers of pulp that have been treated, shaped, and pressed together.
The manufacture of cardboard boxes begins with heavy-duty papers created from tree pulp. The fibers from trees are put through a variety of treatments to produce the stable raw materials for making boxes.
According to wm.com currently, about 70 percent of cardboard-boxes shipped commercially are recovered for recycling.
Many of the boxes are themselves made of recycled materials or lumber industry byproducts like sawdust and wood chips.
When recycled, cardboard is used to make chipboard like cereal boxes, paperboard, paper towels, tissues and printing or writing paper. It’s also made into more corrugated cardboard.
The usage of shit
Afghanistan isn’t Kabul. While so many things had changes in Kabul, the rest of the country still lives a life without technology or modern lifestyle.
In rural areas, people don’t have access to electricity, and they get water from the well. And each family has a well in front of their house.
In 2019 I went to Badakhshan province, people in the provincial capital had no idea about the U.S invisible. They are nomads.
Bathrooms usually locates on the third floor. There is one central heading that people use it to cook and keep hot water for tea and warm the house up during the winter. A Tandor is the main source of heat. It is installed in a room which called Tandor Khana. People burn wood, leaves some other items in it. When it is hot, we bake naan “bread” in it. Next morning the ash is taken out of Tandor and dumped into the bathroom. first it reduces the smell, second it is mixed with shit and people spread it on their farms instead of fertilizer. As we are a poor country and there isn’t enough money to buy all kinds of goods. Using shit for farming is a way of dealing with shit in a practical way. People believe using shit is efficient and it doesn’t burn the root of the plants and vegetables.
