Plastic Economies:
Made to be Wasted ( PET and topologies of disposability)
By: Gay Hawkins
In Hawkin’s Made to be Wasted: PET and disposability, there were a few key concepts that I found to be particularly interesting. The creation of plastic, specifically PET, created a major shift in the commodities market – replacing prominent packaging materials like glass and aluminum. Although plastic’s durable and “ready to hand” characteristics revolutionized the packaging industry, it also had adverse effects that led to the severity of environmental degradation. By being available everywhere, plastic “encouraged new drinking practices” and desensitized the public’s perception of single-use plastics.
The economic and consumption practices go beyond sales and created the idea that packages are meant to be thrown away. This concept of disposability and convenience has perpetuated the use of plastics in lieu of its negative effects. The public, I included, has adopted a dependence on the use of plastics and PET as a daily commodity. Ironically, consumers have only increased the capital accumulation of plastic and have faced the problem of sustainability after its use instead of addressing the issue by regulating the creation and consumption of the so-called “indestructible/multipurpose” material before it becomes waste.
Sustainability
By: Kent E. Portney
The concepts of sustainability presented by Portney takes both a factual and theoretical approach to sustainability. He presents ideas like the phases in which sustainability can be viewed – split between chronological epochs of:
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First epoch – federal command and regulation focused on remediating and preventing environmental concern
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Second epoch – achieving greater economizing efficiency
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Third epoch – broadly sustainability “
Similar to the first article, Portney remarks the 3 E’s of sustainability: Environment, Equity, & Economics and explains how it plays a vital role in the direction in which our world is headed. He regards these tropes as a method of “common understanding” and supplements them with concepts that could either alleviate environmental concerns (tech, sustainable energy, sustainable economy, agriculture, and etc.) or raises awareness for them (Land and water loss/pollution). Some key takeaways or what resonated most with me is the idea of Earth’s limited “carrying capacity”. Controlling the human population has been enacted by countries like China – proving that self-regulation can have both positive and detrimental effects on both the people and the world. Forced regulation is not a personal belief of mine, but I do support the concept of “collective action” instead, an optimistic approach that humans will work as a group to reduce and regulate our consumption. We currently live in a world that hungers for production, convenience, and the next big thing – but the world’s resources are finite and our contributions to waste and poor resource management have only caused its continuous downfall.
“Guest Speaker”
Our previous guest speaker was phenomenal and truly gave me insight on China’s waste management, but I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed to my question – “How does one reduce and regulate textile waste in China?” The response, “Good question, I’d also want to know.”
His response inspired me to research and learn more about textile waste and how it can be reused or regulated. From cities to large apparel conglomerates – the systems we have in place are outdated or could be improved upon. The talk was quite inspiring and made me want to create a project or system that focuses on an aspect of sustainability that is still shrouded in mystery.
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