The first time I heard this phrase, I had to really stop and think about it. Who buys
things just to throw them away?? Well, many of us do. Think about single use paper
products. I’ll give you some statistics on single use paper products in a bit. This
includes things like paper towels, paper napkins, paper plates, paper cups (which are
often coated with wax or plastic so they can hold liquid), facial tissues and toilet paper.
Maybe you’ve seen the humorous memes about buying fresh produce and then having
it die in the fridge with all the good intentions to consume the fresh produce.
All this waste really adds up! Not just in terms of direct cost or expense, but also in
terms of what happens to food and paper products when they leave our homes.
Maybe you’re saying, wait…I recycle! That’s great and I applaud that. However,
science tells us that paper disposable products contribute massively to deforestation,
water use, carbon dioxide emissions. Many of those paper plates and cups that had
wax or plastic coatings cannot be recycled and end up in landfills where they emit
methane.
Speaking of methane, when food decomposes in landfills, methane gas is produced
(nrdc.org). A better alternative is composting as this creates less methane and returns
nutrients to the soil (Wikipedia.org). An even better alternative is meal planning, buying
what you will use and using proven strategies to store food more efficiently.
Other indirect costs of single use paper products include deforestation, as mentioned
above. Pulp and paper mills are the largest industrial water users and among the top
consumers of industrial energy worldwide (Wikipedia.org). Bleaching and processing
involve chlorinated compounds, contributing to air, water and soil pollution
(Wikipedia.org). Paper recycling does help; the process of recycling paper produces
less water and air pollution.
You may have heard the term “Zero Waste.” The idea here is to send less junk to the
landfill. If you’ve started your “zero waste” journey, you may have heard about “swaps”
meaning to “swap” single use paper coffee cups with a durable, washable, reusable
coffee mug; “swap” single use paper napkins for reusable, washable fabric napkins, etc.
You can find a number of fabric alternatives to single use paper products on this
website.