Mindless Waste
March 4, 2009 – 3:47 pmI was sitting at my favorite local cafe last week and I took a break from my book to people watch for a few minutes. A girl that had been sitting at a table drinking coffee and reading a paper got up to order a pastry. The lady working the register put the pastry into a paper bag and handed it to the girl.
The girl went back to her table, took out the pasty, and then walked over to the trashcan and promptly threw out the paper bag.
Lifespan of this paper bag- approximately two minutes.
This is a prime example of what I like to call “mindless waste”, something that I have been guilty of countless times in my life.
There were two opportunities for this bag to have remained unused. First, the lady working the register could have asked the girl if the pastry was “for here” and then she could have put it on a plate. Second, the girl could have said that she didn’t need a bag.
For the past few years I have tried to do the latter as much as possible. It takes almost no effort once you get used to the notion, and with each refusal of a bag you are doing your part to use less.
It actually hurts my eyes to watch the above take place. It’s a microcosm of the wider problem of wastefulness our world faces, especially in Western countries. It’s high time that the throwaway society we live in come to an absolute end.
Start out by taking baby-steps and next time you are offered a bag, just say no!
