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Why do we throw away plastic containers and not our socks? Both only need to be washed to be reused. If you want to know the truth, a plastic food container is even more durable and long-lasting than the typical pair of socks, and can easily be used to store leftovers. But for some reason, we think of socks as reusable. Plastic containers are something to throw away. Marketing experts have sold America on the concept of "convenience" which emphasizes consumption. (That's why socks win over the plastic container.) The more we have to buy something, the more products companies sell. We've been conditioned to believe that more, bigger and newer is always better and more convenient. Yet making more informed choices about everyday activities such as food shopping or lawn care, (or the decision to reuse a plastic container) can make modern lifestyles more sustainable. If one looks up the word "sustain" in the dictionary, the most common meanings are "to keep in existence, keep up, maintain or prolong" or "to provide for the support of, as in sustenance or nourishment." These definitions obviously have wide applications. The fundamental concept of "sustainability" often becomes blurred when used in the context of being environmentally responsible. When it comes to the topic of waste management, however, "sustainability" can be measured in terms of consuming and purchasing habits. Stop and think about it for a minute. Everything we buy is made from some material resource. Plastic is made from oil, aluminum comes from bauxite ore, paper is made primarily from trees. All materials are important and valuable, whether we think of them as containers or products, disposable or reusable. Our consumption patterns form the basis of our perceived purchasing needs. Consuming the largest amount of water, electric, gas, or any type of resource, however, is an unsustainable practice. So are shopping habits linked to excessive or unnecessary purchases. Less consumption -- not more -- should be the overriding rule behind shopping. Your purchasing decisions, after all, are the culmination of a series of events. Choosing products offered by firms using less packaging, reduced hazardous waste volumes, or those which use more environmentally benign constituents, rewards sustainable practices. Not buying products from firms that use excessive packaging or that contain ingredients with large air, water or soil impacts provides an incentive for companies to reform their businesses. Perhaps the ultimate trick to conserving natural resources is perceptual. Let's compare time actually saved, and lost resources, to the true cost of those spare moments of convenience. Americans, for example, throw away six billion disposable pens every year. All those pens take a big toll on our landfills, use precious oil in manufacturing the plastic, and consume energy for production. Don't forget to add the dollar out of pocket for the new pen. Now, how much time have we saved by getting a new pen out of a box rather than screwing a refill into a reusable one? Is the expenditure of resources worth the promoted convenience? And is it really less convenient to put our reusable plastic food containers in the dishwasher than to put our socks in the washing machine? To conserve our natural resources, and live a more sustainable lifestyle, we need to a high value on all resource materials. We also need to keep a sharp eye open at the store so we aren't fooled by so-called convenience products. The notion of sustainability takes into account a series of resource decisions. Your consumption, and corresponding purchases, carry environmental price tags. The closer to zero you can get the final tally, the more sustainable your shopping and lifestyle.
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