Environmental stewardship isn't something I have written much about, but I definitely am critical of the wastefulness that we often see in modern life. I don't like seeing perfectly good toys, furniture or large plastic items placed out for trash collection simply because people can't be bothered to take a minimal amount of time necessary to sell, donate or rehome them. Obviously we need to throw away stuff that is actually broken and can't be repaired, but many items that end up in landfills are still in good shape.
For example, I recently witnessed someone who was moving throw away a large sectional sofa that I know for a fact was only a year or two old. I've become slightly obsessed with Charlie Munger and his philosophy of money in recent years, and furniture is a big ticket item that people often fiance with debt. Furniture stores and credit cards both charge high interest rates. Given that, how ridiculous it is to buy or even fiance a new sofa only to throw it away a year or two later because of laziness and poor planning? It's bad for the earth and bad for the pocketbook to be so wasteful.
I think we have a duty to be better stewards of the earth with things that are under our direct control, such as what we throw away. There is no "away," in "throw away," when much of what we trash is plastic, which never breaks down and will still be siting in a landfill thousands of years from now. It doesn’t seem like a very good trade-off, a couple years of use versus thousands of years of pollution. Planning ahead to rehome, sell or donate used items can help others and keeps things out of landfills that don't need to be there. Here is how:
For example, I recently witnessed someone who was moving throw away a large sectional sofa that I know for a fact was only a year or two old. I've become slightly obsessed with Charlie Munger and his philosophy of money in recent years, and furniture is a big ticket item that people often fiance with debt. Furniture stores and credit cards both charge high interest rates. Given that, how ridiculous it is to buy or even fiance a new sofa only to throw it away a year or two later because of laziness and poor planning? It's bad for the earth and bad for the pocketbook to be so wasteful.
I think we have a duty to be better stewards of the earth with things that are under our direct control, such as what we throw away. There is no "away," in "throw away," when much of what we trash is plastic, which never breaks down and will still be siting in a landfill thousands of years from now. It doesn’t seem like a very good trade-off, a couple years of use versus thousands of years of pollution. Planning ahead to rehome, sell or donate used items can help others and keeps things out of landfills that don't need to be there. Here is how:
