Consumerism

Greed, the size of our landfills, and new trends are a few factors that makes over half the Earth a “throw-away society.” There are indeed benefits and several disadvantages to being known as a throw-away society. But in my opinion, the disadvantages outweigh the benefits.

            The desire to have everything you can or can’t, for one is in fact a disadvantage known as “greed.” Everyone in the world has to be greedy at one point in their life, just some more than others. It’s a major disadvantage because when you’re greedy, it may lead you to act in ways that you never thought you would. The reason people rob banks is the same reason why people throw away working electronics that they might have spent a fortune on, for something that’s newer and may break easily or not function as well. All so that in the end, they can say they own the latest cell phone, computer or even boat. A few ways to prevent this could be to think before making a purchase; do you really need the item? Are you going to regret buying it? Or does it function properly? Can you really afford it?

            Not only the size of landfills, but the numerous amounts of them clearly show that we, Canadians, are throwing away a ton of stuff. In our defense, we could say that we don’t only throw away electronics or necessary items and that our garbage is filled with broken, outdated toys or wrappers. Another excuse could be that we drop it off at a waste management site. But waste management sites or landfills, you’re still throwing useful things away. If you were to go through an actual landfill or a waste management site, you can see a bunch of functional items that range from computers to even toys or game consoles. The only believable excuse for throwing those items away are that new and improved ones came out. Reduce the size of any kind of landfills by thinking if you may need it in the future, or if you could give it to someone else that needs or wants it.  It might not be useful to you, but like the saying goes: “Someone’s trash is another person’s treasure,” what do you know, the other person might guard it with their life. In the end, not only do you reduce landfill sizes, but also the harm on the environment and you just made someone else’s day.