Consumerism and trash -
what's the connection?

What is consumerism?

It means buying things - and more things, and more things....
and then using them up -
or throwing them away.

Consumers are the people who buy things.

Most "consumers" live in the North

If you live in one of the rich, industrialised countries of the North, you will consume much more of the Earth's resources than most of your fellow human beings who live in the developing countries of the South.
For example, you will consume:

• 19 times more aluminium
• 14 times more paper
• 13 times more iron and steel
• 10 times more energy
• 3 times more fresh water

NORTH & SOUTH : the North is used for the rich industrialised countries (including Australia & New Zealand); the South refers to the poorer, developing countries.
Map

And people in the North throw away much more than people in the South. Poor people in the South use and re-use things like bottles,bags, cans, rags, old car tyres - things that people in the North often throw in the trash.

A few examples of what we throw away.

A bigger problem: waste from manufacturing

But the biggest problem is not what we, as individuals, throw away. The biggest problem is the very large amount of waste that is produced in making the things that we buy and use.
For example, in the USA:

• around 15 trillion kilos of waste produced in extracting gas, coal, oil & minerals;
• 136 billion kilos of chemicals used in manufacturing and processing;
• 320 billion kilos of hazardous waste from chemical production.

MANUFACTURING: making things in factories

INDIVIDUALS: separate people - each person is an individual

EXTRACTING: taking out of the ground

PROCESSING: making materials ready to use for production

Exporting Waste

In addition, countries in the North try to export a lot of their waste - including toxic waste - to countries in the South. In 1989 many of the world's countries signed the Basel Convention, a treaty to stop industrialised countries from dumping hazardous waste in developing countries. Many countries signed but the USA, one of the largest producers of waste in the world, did not sign.

The BASEL CONVENTION

USA exports toxic waste