Irene Probasco
Joe E. Heimlich
The "greening of America" has produced a new wave of individuals who want to be environmentally "correct" in their purchasing decisions. As these individuals are developing into environmentally conscious consumers, the flood of information on what is environmentally "correct" is confusing and overwhelming. Studies indicate that purchasing continues to be based primarily on the availability of the product - when and where it is needed. Purchasing is also based on the cost and relative convenience of the project, as well as the value of the product for the cost.
Yet environmentally conscious individuals wish to add another element to their purchasing decisions and strive to learn to ask the right questions. They wonder if one product is truly better for the environment than another as they become aware of the socioeconomic and environmental costs of resource waste and waste disposal problems. They are asking about the types of environmental impacts created from different products and packages. They want to make a decision that is appropriate for both their individual needs and the environment.
Currently, much research is taking place to provide answers to these questions and give sound direction to the environmentally conscious consumer, but no definition is clearly stated. Individuals can person ally begin to advance toward making environmentally "correct" choices if they ask methodical questions as they make their purchasing decisions.
The first question to be addressed focuses on the person's level of need for the product. This choice continues to be a personal one to identify what use the product holds and how much personal need there is for it. The question of need also includes a decision to determine the amount of the product to be purchased. For example, this decision involves such things as identifying the probable use of household paint when it is purchased in advance, the opportunity there is to obtain the paint within a reasonable time frame for use, and the likelihood that some or much of the paint will be discarded rather than used because it will dry.
Stopping to determine the personal level of need for a product is a conscious decision and marks the prelude to understanding the impacts of the purchase from an environmental perspective. Ultimately, the first step toward making an environ mentally sound purchase is to ask the question, "Do I need this product enough to purchase it in this quantity at this time?"
Once a person decides just how much of the product is needed and what potential there is for using it completely, the next choice centers on the packaging. How much of this packaging is necessary?
Packaging serves an important function. For example, in the United States there is less than a three percent loss of food prior to purchase. This is the lowest rate of loss in the world! This low rate is due largely to efficient packaging and transportation systems. Reduction in packaging could result in product loss and increased costs. Some products appear to have excessive packaging and, in most cases, some or much of that packaging can be redesigned to minimize the amount of resulting waste. In other cases, the cost will increase because of additional labor costs, product loss and alterations in design.
While some packaging is necessary, the goal of an integrated waste management system is to ultimately reduce the amount of material that becomes waste. Waste reduction and waste minimization involve strategies for having less product and package for ultimate disposal. But social customs, in addition to regulations, place many constraints on the potential for reduction and minimization strategies in the community as a whole. Even so, the potential for individual action is great.
Regulatory requirements pose a major constraint and often make reduction difficult. Some products are sized according to regulatory action, so economy in packaging is prohibitive. By law, a small quantity of a pesticide is all that is allowed to be sold at one time. Also, what is required by law to be disclosed on the exterior of a package can, in part, determine the size of the package regardless of the amount of content. Whether the increase is the package material itself or in additional information for the consumer enclosed within the package, information control and labeling regulations place a constraint on the possibility of waste minimization or reduction. Small amounts of products are often contained in large packages because space for printed explanations needs to be provided.
Another constraint on the long-term goal of waste reduction is related to consumer expectations of packages and products. People expect packaging to guarantee the safety and purity of the product, provide ease in storage and assure disposability. Medicines are expected to be untainted and to remain secure over the life of the medication. This is assured with several layers of protective packaging, all of which is disposable. It is in the awareness of this additional waste that a consumer becomes more environmentally conscious.
Waste is generated by both the product and its package in extraction, transportation, manufacturing, storage and use. For this reason, a product purchase has ramifications on waste generation that far exceed the product and the package that the purchaser obtains.
The primary packaging, or the material that individuals normally consider "packaging," is just the first layer. The package's product, however, is delivered to the retail institution in secondary and tertiary packaging. These additional types of packaging allow for transportation and storage of the product through the distribution system without harm coming to the product itself.
When an item is purchased, an environmentally conscious consumer begins to realize that a purchasing decision includes both the generation of the product desired and the packaging. The product and its packaging include multiple types of materials designed for different uses and give rise to the next question.
There are many questions that can be asked about the environmental appropriateness of the materials used. These questions, once again, must be related to both the product and the package. Today it is unlikely that any person could or would consciously ask these questions at the time of every purchase. Realistically, what is desired is to develop a deeper awareness of these issues and to gradually form a more environmentally informed base upon which decisions are made subconsciously.
The initial question an individual can raise relates to the source of the product. Is the material in both the product and the package from a renewable (such as trees) ore depletable (such as aluminum) resource? Those products that are created from renewable resources are often the preferred choice environmentally, given no other decision factor. The informed individual can then begin to ask if both the product and its packaging can be economically recycled.
Some products consist of multiple materials that hamper the potential for material recapture. Manufactured products are becoming more sophisticated and in many cases more difficult to recycle. Many goods are made with increasing amounts of nonrecyclable materials, such as thermoses plastics, safety glass and fabrics that create disposal problems. An example is the interior of an automobile.
In addition, toxins that can make recycling hazardous, such as lead, cadmium, PCB's and CFS's, are found in a variety of consumer products. Ironically, many new products that are intended to protect human life and minimize risks become themselves risk inducing. One example is the automotive air bag, which uses a propellant that is both explosive and toxic.
To the extent practicable, consumers should avoid the purchase of goods and products that are designed to use nonrecyclable and toxic materials. But when there is no available alternative product the method of handling the material can be examined.
This question relates to the characteristics of the product and package content left for final disposal. If the product includes the use of a hazardous material, is there an appropriate mechanism for handling the material for recapture or for disposal? Is this process environmentally appropriate? There are both laws and physical limitations on various materials related to environmentally safe disposal. Awareness of appropriate and feasible technologies for handling the materials safely can help a consumer make an appropriate environmental decision. It must be acknowledged that material recovery involves manufacturing just like the initial product and package generation and all manufacturing has byproducts that can affect the air, the water, and the land. When these byproducts are negative, they are labeled pollution.
Concerned consumers now ask "From what I know, or am willing to know, is this material as pollution-preventing and natural as possible?" In many cases, this question is one that is extremely difficult to answer since it requires an understanding of the manufacture and remanufacture of products. Once again, this includes the complex of actions that relate to the manufacturing process used, the transportation requirements for the product, the byproducts, energy and water use in recapture, remanufacture or disposal of the product and its package.
A final question relates to the impact of use of the product. In its use stage, is the product environmentally appropriate or is an alternative material available and a better choice? Further, in transportation, use and storage in the workplace and the home, does the product create a threat to the environment or is it benign? All of these questions require continuous education and investigation for consumers to make environmentally "correct" purchasing decisions.
Long-term educational, as well as promotional, programs must be undertaken to instill consumer confidence and build assurances that support environmentally sound packaging. These programs could provide an opportunity to illustrate the reusable, renewable and depletable characteristics of a product and its package.
As indicated earlier, the potential for individual action is very great. The act of separating materials for recycling is an educational process that leads environmentally conscious persons to better understand their consumption and disposal behavior. They could begin to advance to the next plateau and make purchasing decisions to buy recycled products whenever possible, for they realize that collecting recyclables and purchasing recycled products are equal components.
Ongoing educational efforts would bring heightened awareness of the environmental factors involved when making purchasing decisions. When these factors become more focused for the environmentally conscious individual - how to purchase, when to purchase it and what to purchase - become clearer. People can become increasingly exposed to opportunities for understanding how their decisions are related to the environmental appropriateness of a product and package. They are better able to ask, "Is this an environmentally sound product and package based on what I know?"
For every individual, the ultimate purchasing decisions and rationale to reinforce what is environmentally "correct" will vary. While individuals have differing levels of need, values and knowledge related to various resources and their uses, no single answer on "what is better" will satisfy the values and beliefs of all people.
Being environmentally responsible lies in understanding one's own values and beliefs, and acting in accordance with those values and beliefs. It also includes allowing other people the option to act on their sets of values and beliefs, but with an eye toward increasing all people's environmental awareness. When an individual truly commits to environmental decision-making, the commitment is toward a lifetime of continuing to learn and challenge beliefs regarding products, packages and the manufacturing of what it is we use to maintain our quality and style of life.
The environmentally conscious individual realizes that the ecosystem provides all that is used. But, through current behavior patterns, natural resources are taken from the earth, used and passed along in such a way that there are few beneficial returns to that ecosystem. Toxins, noxious gasses, contaminants and undesirable compounds are usually returned to the water, air and soil. These materials are called "waste." Waste means that natural resources have been diminished and less is available for use the next time around.
It has been estimated that the United States generated about 195,000,000 tons of waste in 1990. Approximately 15 percent of this waste was recycled; 85 percent of it was not. This is a waste of 165,750,000 tons of natural resources, yet this waste does not include the waste of water to process the manufacture of the products nor the energy used to produce them. If the rest of the world begins to imitate the types of consumptive behavior patterns now present in the United States, what natural resources will there be to meet this demand?
All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.
Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.
TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868