We're still a wasteful society
Mark Pavilons

We Canadians can take pride in a greatly many things. But we're humble, you know, so you likely won't hear much shouting about such things as our environmental and technological prowess.

We have the highest literacy rate in the world and we are ranked tops when it comes to issues like multiculturalism.

We are world leaders, but we are also our own worst enemy.

We may have been the second country to establish a ministry of the environment, but we're first in ATM use. To me, that indicates we're far too busy to step foot inside a bank, and our lives are far too rushed. That is reinforced by another statistic that indicates we're second only to Japan in the number of workaholics.

And, despite our penchant for being green, particularly in Caledon, I fear we're a wasteful lot.

It's also reported that Canadians produce the most waste per person and we are the second highest emitter of greenhouse gases per person (next only to the U.S.). Given our lack of movement on the Kyoto Accord, just what are doing to our planet?

A recent stroll around my house and office revealed some interesting things.

My family and I are avid recyclers and we put two overloaded blue boxes at the curb each week (we could sometimes fill 3 or 4). And I'm proud that Caledon's participation rate in recycling is relatively high. But it's sad to note that there is still a noticeable amount of recyclables entering the garbage stream and ending up in dumps somewhere.

What's worse is what I'm noticing in those blue boxes.

I was under the impression we're environmentally friendly, and yet I'm seeing more plastic, glass and paper than ever before. With the popularity of computers and online everything, you'd think we would be moving toward a paperless society. Not so. I have been getting more junk mail, flyers, catalogues and magazines than I can count. Almost everything we consume comes in harmful plastic containers that never degrade. Sad.

But try to convince food makers to switch, or encourage the creation of more friendly containers and you're up against a brick wall. They will argue they'd be happy to pursue such lofty goals, if you want to spend $12 on a bottle of ketchup.

At least we're trying to educate our children on the importance of recycling and not intentionally polluting our globe.

At our office in Bolton, I didn't think we generated a lot of waste. Most of what I do is in front of a computer, so there's little in the way of paper being generated on my end. But, when I consider the amount of mail, faxes, documents and reports that are read, copied and then tossed, it's almost mind-boggling.

Our small office fills two recycling boxes per week of paper products alone, which I estimated at roughly 50-60 pounds.

While I realize the stuff is being recycled, it's still a lot of paper. And that means a lot of trees are being cut down, all in the name of progress?

And then I thought about paperclips and staples. These two office supplies have been around for more than 100 years (stapler patented in 1878 and paperclips in 1899).

To most of us, these seem trivial at best. But just think of the volume, on a global basis. Each day, even in Ontario, businesses go through millions of each of these tiny, metal creations. At the end of the day, I'm sue they end up in the trash. As most of us know, metal takes a long while to rust and decompose, so bit by bit, the pile continues to rise.

And of course, let's not forget about pens - millions of them used daily. Their lifespan is only a month or so and then they, too, become part of the trash abyss.

While we can pat ourselves on the back for a job well done, there's still a ton left to do.

I don't know how to rid the planet of staples, paperclips and pens, but I'd be willing to listen to alternatives. How about an edible writing instrument, or a paper fastener that melts when exposed to water?

We think nothing of lining up for gas at 10 p.m. when it drops to 77 cents per litre. Yet we seldom think twice about tossing that styrofoam lunch container in the trash after our mid-day break.

Decaying automobiles still plague our landscape. We still toss much more than we save or reuse.

We may be the second largest country in the world, but we're still babies in the grand scheme of things.

Let's hope the recent municipal election has created room for fresh ideas.