On Throw-away Society
Currently, our life is infiltrated with various disposable goods, among which throwaway tableware is the most commonly seen. Until now, even disposable cameras, disposable shavers, and disposable lighters have come into existence. These throwaway goods benefit us enormously, bringing convenience to our life. Notwithstanding, they give rise to a series of environmental and social problems. Convenience and sanitation are two most notable features of throwaway goods in our society. These ephemeral goods are widely used in certain places like hospitals, airplanes and fast food industry. Throwaway pinheads and tongue depressors, to some degree, prevent communicable diseases from spreading. Disposable chopsticks and bowls guarantee the efficiency for fast food providers, saving their time of washing. Besides, disposable toilet seat pads are coming into sight, contributing to the public sanitation. From these perspectives, throwaway products seem to be indispensable in our society.
Simultaneously, the influx of disposable goods is turning our society into a throw-away society, which brings about severe environmental problems. The production of throwaway commodities consumes large quantities of natural resources, intensifying the diminution of resources. According to a research, China consumes about 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks annually, leading to the reduction of forest coverage by over two million square meters every year. Such a waste of resources is huge and only makes up a small section of the total resource-wasting. Our society cannot afford long-term mass consumption of disposable products.
Apart from environmental degradation, the fact that we are rumbling into a throw-away society provokes social problems. In respect of producers, “planned obsolescence” was devised, with the goal of making products break down in a relatively short time and urging customers to replace them. If an electric appliance stops working, people are disposed to buy a new one, owning to the expensive repairing expenses and the impatience to waiting for it to be examined and fixed. In addition, technique advances reduce the cost and price of electric items. This trend not only causes more resource-wasting, but stirs up the climate of squandering and fickleness as well. Regarding consumers, people used to have a sentimental attachment to their possessions, but the fast-changing society ruthlessly breaks these bonds. In the past, a television could accompany us for more than twenty years,while nowadays we will renew it in a couple of years. By and large, throw-away society has dim prospects.
On the whole, though we have to admit that disposable goods have their advantages, we should put the brakes on the trend of turning into a throw-away society. The usage of throwaway products should be limited in a proper amount to eliminate the problems appearing along with it.
