Reducing Waste Realistically

I have an idea, and not a lot of time to write it out, so I'm going to just shoot my shot. Americans can reduce waste if we stop using plastic containers and started using glass. I got this idea because in the height of inflation and rising grocery prices my roommate started buying milk from a dairy. The dairy sends us milk in glass bottles once a week, simultaneously picking up the empty bottles. It's saved us a lot of money at the grocery store, and a lot of hassle for me when I carry the groceries inside.

You know when you rinse out a milk jug and you sorta do the crush of shame? It's like you know this jug is going to take up a lot of space in the landfill. You try to minimize the damage by crushing it down, but you know it's not going to help. You know. Well I don't have to do that anymore. Let me tell you, it is nice. This whole milk thing makes me feel all old timey. I like setting the old bottles out to be replaced. And when I rinse the glass bottles out it's like a huge burden has been lifted off my chest.

It made me think about how companies can maybe utilize this same strategy. I started thinking about what could incentivize companies to reuse their packaging? Why would a company convert to glass which has a hefty price tag next to it? Honestly my answer to that is that it could save them so much more money in the long term.

Let's use jalapenos as an example. A company that produces jalapenos probably already uses glass as it's food safe container. What if, instead of the jar being thrown out, or reused around the house, the company incentivizes consumers to bring the jar back to the manufacture. They could do this by paying the customer back. In some states like Oregon they already do this by paying the customer 5 to 10 cents a per consumable (such as beer, soda, and other drink container) they collect which can add up to a lot of money. What if the jalapeno manufacturers incentivized consumers to bring back jars by paying consumers $1 back. Of course this $1 could be worked into the initial selling price. It would also encourage consumers save jars and see them as something other than waste. And if consumers are ever tight on funds, they can just crack into their jar collection and cash in. For a company that sells jalapenos, they produce millions of glass jars every day, and they don't see any of that money come back. They could cut costs significantly if people actually brought the jars back. I am not a mathematician, but I think it could save them a lot.

That's just an idea of how something like that could work. I would put that into more business savvy hands, but there is the start. Next we would have to push manufactures to actually do it. To start that we would have to figure out which states produce which products. We would then have to reach out to our local representatives and propose bills. I am not a proposal writer, so maybe hire a proposal writer to do it for you? Also spread the message: This is what we as consumers want. If manufacturers are confronted on both sides (by the law and by consumers) then things might actually start to happen.

To end this little tirade, I wanted to say that glass is one of the few things that can be successfully recycled... unlike plastic. If you do some basic research you can find out that most of the stuff that goes into a recycle bin doesn't actually get recycled. {I am too lazy to actually do this research but it's true, just look into it trust me} If I remember correctly it's because people don't take that little plastic ring off their water bottles. Also people don't wash their milk jugs.

Glass, however, is easily recyclable. Have you ever been walking on a plaza at night, and the sidewalks were all sparkly under the lamplight? That's called glassphalt. That's what happens when you mix shattered glass into concrete. This is just one example of recycled glass that is cohesive in our society. It's such a nice way of recycling compared to melting down plastic and releasing those noxious fumes into the air.

Anyways. I know that this is a little idealistic, but I think this is something that can be reasonably, rationally, and logistically done. I'm not the gal for the job, because I don't have the brains for it, but I'm glad I could voice this somewhere. I have to go put out my milk jugs. Bye now.

P. S. I am aware that if this post actually gets traction then our beloved milk delivery will get more expensive via more demand. Might be worth it.