Hassle-Free Junk Mail Reduction

I receive much less junk mail than most people I know, probably because I'm diligent about contacting companies that send me unwanted mail and telling them to desist. However, it's a chore I dread, and lately I just haven't wanted to deal with phoning junk mailers.

Meanwhile, I've been trying to think of a way to help a man I know who is unemployed and has little to occupy his time. I wanted to get him a part-time job where I work, but the only vacancy involves contact with the public, and this man is completely unsuited to dealing with the public due to his disordered thinking and occasional delusional statements. We simply can't afford to have our office represented by someone who may blurt out inappropriate statements.

Although this man is unsuitable for making calls to companies his employer wants to do business with, it occurred to me that he would be perfectly capable of placing calls to companies an employer doesn't want anything to do with. After all, if he makes a bad impression, there's no harm done. So, I asked him if he would be interested in working for me occasionally, placing calls to companies that send me junk mail and asking them to stop. He readily agreed. I'm delighted with the outcome. It's great not having to phone the companies that send me unwanted catalogs or solicitations, and, as a bonus, I'm giving a little work to a man who would otherwise have none.

It would be interesting to calculate the environmental damage caused by junk mail. There are so many factors to consider, including the paper, the plastic windows in some envelopes, and the fuel used delivering the mail to its recipient then taking it away to a landfill or recycling center. Anyway, I'm just happy I'll now be getting a little less junk mail.

Show Us Your (Plastic) Trash Challenge

From June 8 until June 14, I participated in a modified version of the Show Us Your (Plastic) Trash Challenge, and recorded all the plastic trash I threw out. I couldn't comply with the requirement to take a photograph of my plastic trash at the end of the week, because there was no way I was going to ask the long-suffering people I live with to put up with Yet Another Pile of Trash. They already deal with two categories of trash that would go straight in the trash can in any normal household. In the living room, there's a mountain of Tetra Pak cartons that get saved until I visit a friend whose municipality accepts them for recycling, and in the bathroom, there are three large containers filled with plastic caps that are being saved indefinitely until they can be recycled. Aveda stores in certain other cities accept plastic caps for recycling, so I've been saving all the caps I've come across to take to Aveda when either the store in my city starts participating in the recycling program or someone I know visits a city where the recycling program is already active. Anyway, the point is that I didn't think it appropriate to announce that in addition to Tetra Pak cartons and bottle caps I would also be saving chocolate wrappers and other plastic trash.

Here's what I threw out:

Definitely not recyclable:

• 2 paper sleeves with plastic lining from Weetabix breakfast cereal
  
• 1 plastic bag from a different brand of cereal
  
• 3 plastic wrappers from Fair Trade, organic chocolate
  
• 1 bag of vegetarian burgers
  
• 1 plastic clamshell containing blueberries (#6)
  
• 3 bags of dried fruit
  
• 1 plastic/cardboard container of dried fruit
  
• 6 energy bar wrappers
  

Plastic portion probably not recyclable:

• 2 aluminum cans
  
• 4 Tetra Pak cartons
  

Recyclable/Downcyclable:

• none
  

Total: 24

The instructions for the Show Us Your (Plastic) Trash Challenge said to include the recycling number at the bottom of each item, but only the blueberry container had a number. It's frustrating not having more information on what type of plastic is used. Each and every piece of plastic trash I threw out during the challenge week was packaging for food or beverages, and I'm astonished that there isn't a requirement that plastic in contact with food be labeled as to its type.

I wish I could say that recording my plastic trash for a week led to thoughts on how to reduce my consumption of plastic, but it didn't. There's no longer any store in the area that allows shoppers to bring their own containers for bulk foods, and I've got to eat something other than the potatoes, carrots and apples I buy at the farmer's market. I keep hoping that one of the local stores with bulk bins will abandon the ridiculous requirement that shoppers place bulk foods in plastic bags. I find it so ironic that Whole Foods, which brags about not offering plastic carrier bags at its check outs, still has rolls of plastic bags next to the bulk bins.

Items collected during June 2009

I'm still avoiding handling other people's trash, out of concern I'll bring home H1N1 flu. However, there have been times when I couldn't resist picking up recyclables or reusables, usually because they were within 10 feet of the river and I knew that picking them up was a now-or-never thing.

Recyclables:

• 4 glass bottles (1 Everfresh Grape Strawberry, 1 Elephant Malt Liquor, 1 Corona Extra, 1 S. Pellegrino mineral water)


• 4 aluminum cans (1 Steel Reserve lager, 1 Yuengling lager, 1 roadkilled Diet Pepsi, 1 Heineken)


• 3 plastic bottles (1 Dr Pepper, 1 Dasani water, 1 Strawberry Powerade Zero)

Reusables:

• 1 trash bag


• 1 plastic produce bag


• 1 newspaper bag


• 3 plastic carrier bags


• 1 black Sharpie marker

The trash bag and produce bag had never been used, and were still folded tightly in the way plastic bags are only when they're brand new. I've never figured out why unused bags are so commonly found in the environment. It's especially hard to understand when it comes to bags like trash bags that actually cost money to the people who lose them.

No-Waste Festival Fun

A few days ago, I went to a festival where food and beverages abounded. I've been to the same festival in the past, and knew there would be endless paper plates, plastic forks, and plastic cups. This time, I came prepared! I brought my telescoping cup, which was a no brainer as I carry it pretty much everywhere during the summer. I was less sure what plate to bring, being daunted by the prospect of carrying home a dirty plate at the end of the day. Then, I realized that one of the carryout containers I take with me to restaurants for leftovers would be ideal. The lid meant I wouldn't have to worry about hygiene going to or from the festival, and, as a bonus, I could carry a metal spork inside the container. The container I used is similar to the one in this picture:

Everything went very well. I felt self conscious about my dish, surrounded as I was by people with paper plates. However, the only person who commented on my gear was positive about it. Having my own plate also benefited me right at the end of the festival, when I went to a food stand where there was still a lot of food available that wasn't being served because the stand had run out of plates. As the only nearby customer who still had possession of a plate, I was served a much greater portion of food than I would otherwise have been given.

I'm aware, of course, that there was disposable packaging "upstream" from me. This was brought home to me when a mouthful of food I ate turned out to have a strip of plastic wrap mixed in with it. However, I'm delighted finally to have found a convenient way to avoid paper plates and plastic forks at festivals. I love food-centric events, and anticipate bringing the carryout container and spork with me to numerous events.

Items collected during May 2009

I'm still avoiding picking up recyclables and reusables due to the presence of swine flu in my community. However, I've made a few exceptions:

Recyclables:

• 2 plastic bottles (1 Tropicana Strawberry Melon Juice Drink, 1 Deer Park water)
• 2 glass bottles (1 Starbucks Coffee Frappuccino Coffee Drink, 1 Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey)
• 1 aluminum can (Bud Ice)
• 1 instruction manual for a Nokia 6205 phone

Reusables:

• 2 small plastic bags
• 1 plastic carrier bag

Trash:

• 1 polystyrene cup with a plastic lid and straw (McDonald's)

Most of the items were picked up only because of special circumstances. The Tropicana bottle rolled up and down the bus I was riding for a good 10 minutes, finally reaching the steps and rolling off the bus when the doors opened to let me off. As the only passenger disembarking at that stop, I felt responsible for it. The glass Starbucks bottle was on the road directly in front of a parked car's wheel, and would likely have been smashed when the car was next used, causing a hazard to bicycle riders on that street. The small plastic bags were picked up while I was walking the dog and knew I would likely get to use the bags within minutes. The plastic carrier bag was picked up when I made an impromptu trip to the grocery store and, realizing I didn't have enough shopping bags with me, grabbed a bag from the sidewalk near the grocery store.

The whiskey bottle, beer can, water bottle, Nokia manual, and McDonald's cup were collected after being on the ground for so long that I concluded that any flu viruses clinging to them would have expired days or even weeks ago from exposure to the heat. I've started making a note of the other recyclables I pass so I can pick up those that have been lying around for a day or longer.

I wish the Nokia manual had been picked up by whoever owns the Nokia phone. The manual lay in the street for a long time, and I left it there until rain was imminent.

Recyclables collected Monday, April 27, 2009

• 3 plastic bottles (1 Deer Park water, 1 Powerade Zero, 1 roadkilled Snapple Fruit Punch)
• 1 plastic dry cleaning bag

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The recyclables listed above are the last I will be collecting for a while. My community is one of those affected by the new flu virus, and there's a chance that some of the recyclables littering the neighborhood will be contaminated with the virus. The chance is very, very low, and if I lived alone, I would continue to pick up other people's discarded recyclables. However, I don't live alone. I live with my family in a home with a single bathroom, and the sink where I rinse recyclables is shared by everyone. I hope the flu panic will be over soon so I can return to picking up recyclables. There have been so many in the days since April 27.

Why Privacy Advocates Should Act Environmentally NOW

When I act environmentally, my concern is usually the welfare of people and animals. For example, I avoid wasting electricity because the electricity in my city is produced by burning coal, and the emissions from the power plant cause respiratory problems for vulnerable residents. Another example is collecting discarded plastic bags that may otherwise be ingested by animals living in the ocean.

However, another motivation is wishing to stave off the draconian government measures that will some day have to be implemented if people don't voluntarily act more environmentally. We are fast approaching a point at which national governments will enact laws to force citizens to pollute less, and I'm concerned with the form those laws will take.

One option already being discussed is the introduction of a carbon tax. There is also the potential for a plastic tax, pesticide tax, and so forth. Although these taxes have much to recommend them, they would have a disproportionate impact on poorer people. Think, for example, of the impact on a tax on electricity. For a poor family, this could mean being unable to use heating or air conditioning even in extreme weather. Meanwhile, a wealthy person like Al Gore could continue to air condition his mansion despite the tax. This clearly would not be fair.

A more just approach to stopping pollution would be rationing. Each person would have the right to cause a certain amount of carbon-equivalent pollution and could buy a certain quantity of plastic and pesticide per year. Rationing would affect everyone equally, regardless of income level.

If rationing was done through paper ration coupons, as was the case in the past, I would support it 100%. Unfortunately, it's extremely unlikely that paper coupons would be used, at least in industrialized countries. Instead, electronic cards similar to debit cards would be used. Such cards are already used for the United States' food stamps program and other government programs.

The implications for privacy are staggering. If there is a carbon tax, it will apply to every item transported by a gasoline-powered vehicle. (Items transported by electric vehicles will also be affected if the source of electricity is coal or natural gas.) The ration card will therefore be used for almost every purchase a person makes, from food to books to furnishings. Even with privacy measures in place, it is likely that, sooner or later, a subpoena or hacker will cause a person's expenditures to become public knowledge. Think back to Monica Lewinsky's book purchases, which became public knowledge because she paid with a credit card. If every purchase involves swiping a ration card, we could all find our reading lists made public.

I find this prospect very disturbing. Most of us will, at one time or another, purchase something we don't want the world to know about. It may be something indicative of a medical problem, like a package of adult diapers or a book on dealing with the aftereffects of prostate surgery. It may be something indicative of our religious beliefs, which we feel the need to keep from family members or employers. It may simply be something we're irrationally embarrassed to have "normal" people know we buy, such as a DVD of a TV show we're supposed to be too sophisticated to enjoy.

Rationing would address the pollution caused by products' manufacture and shipping to the point of sale, but would not address the problems caused by products being dumped illegally when they are no longer wanted. To deter illegal dumping, it's possible that many products will one day be sold with RFID chips embedded in them. This would be very effective at stopping the practice of people dumping fishing nets, refrigerators, mattresses, and other large items. Unfortunately, RFID chips, like electronic ration cards, would have serious privacy implications.

I want to preserve my right to buy and use products anonymously, and I want to see poor people able to afford necessities like heating. My faint hope is that if a critical mass of people voluntarily practice rationing of gasoline, electricity, plastic, pesticides, water, et cetera, we can stave off the introduction of laws that will either erode our privacy or impose undue hardship on the poor. Voluntarily adhering to environmental standards today is much more palatable to me than waiting for national governments to enact draconian environmental protection laws.