United States OPA107/0
Environmental Protection July 1980
Agency
vvEPA How to
Salvage a
Wasting Dream
Consumer
Protection of
the Nation's
Natural
Resources
We have a new decade before us in which to meet our
purpose, to resolve our accumulated, unmet
challenges. If we fail to change our attitudes
about waste, if we shirk this responsibility to confront
our challenges realistically, the depletion of natural
resources and the erosion of human spirit may confound
us. We may simply find that we have insufficient
amounts of either resources or spirit to reverse the trend.
There are, of course, ways to address our problems
and our history suggests the context. Our nation is
remarkable for its qualitative achievements, gained
without the aid of quantitative longevity. We are only
200 years old. Compared to the cultures of the
Hapsburgs, the Jews or the Ming dynasty we are still the
children of the globe. Though entering adolescence, we
are a young, abundant nation. And like all youngsters,
we have slight sense of time, and an undeveloped notion
of the value of saving. We've assumed that time would
never run out, that abundance would never diminish,
that the future didn't matter—or, that if it did, it would
never pose a threat for us. To be young and healthy and
Tilled with energy meant forever. We failed to see the
implications of damaging our abundant country's healthy
Bess Myers on
Commissioner of Consumer Affairs
City of New York
before the Waste Alert Conference,
Brooklyn, New York, February 28, 1980
-------
environment, we could not grasp the possibility that dire
consequences followed from squandering our resources
and our energy, as though they were both in infinite
supply
Sometimes we had an inkling that things were not
quite right Peering through Southern California smog,
watching the Cuyahoga River burn, viewing the ravages
of strip-mining, all made us approach the questions
about resource waste But, to be honest, we have tended
to stop long before we reached the answers It is a
striking chronicle of national myopia Short-sightedness
limits any youngster's perceptions about challenges and
problems We were no different
Understanding this history of opportunities, both
taken and lost, tells how we arrived where we are today
Remembering it can help us proceed from here
Wei begin by nurturing the will, spirit, determination
and, yes, the anger to brush aside any more evasions We
must discover America again--the abundant America in
which our reasonable expectations can be met, our
quality of life may be conserved, and our personal
opportunity to grow can flourish
We must rescue the land, the economy, and the future,
from those who would strip away and waste our
resources, or turn us into a nation of hostages to
inflation, or mortgage away our future to the highest
bidder, if the price were right
Americans are beginning to teach for better ways to
conserve what we have, and better ways to turn waste
into an asset.to recycle, to use again what we have used
before, and be stronger lor it
As members ol communities, we can reach out to get
our neighbors involved, currying the message that the
high cost ol squandering our resources doesn't permit
anyone to stand on the sidelines. :ir»touchcd
As consumers, we can cairy the fight into the
marketplace, where waste has become an accepted
adjunct of business, with consumers paying the inflated
price for it
As voters, we can make it a political issue of our time.
reminding the decision-makers that we want a few
decisions coming oui w.iy. at long last, instead of to the
lobbyists tor bigger and better waste
As the people who must pay the taxes, meet the
monthly bills, and try to hold on to our sanity while
inflation taunts us. we must begin to blow the whistle on
anyone, anywhcic. for whom inflation and waste mean
exorbitant prolit at the expense not only of our
pockctbooks. but also of our health, our peace of mind,
our dignity and self-respect, and our confidence in
ourselves as individuals and as a people
-------
We must blow the whistle on oil. Our scandalous
neglect of programs to develop other energy sources and
our unconscionable submission to the bullying and
blackmail of the oil exporters, is a major cause of the
sickness in our economy, and the assault on the quality
of our lives
In the last vear. the price of oil rose by sixty percent
We see that inflated bludgeon on our pocketbooks every
time we drive the family car up to the gas pump or
when our hearts sink at the size of our home heating
bills But it hits us in hidden ways, too The checkout
cashier at the food market makes it ring in our ears with
every item—dairy products up 11 percent in the past
year, and a 9 percent increase for meat, poultry, and fish
Everyone is being hit hard by inflation But in our
consumer economy, everyone who has a hand in the
growing or manufacturing of a product, and its
packaging, and shipping, and distribution, and retailing,
everyone at every step of the road to the buyer, adds his
or her own inflated costs and passes it along—and you
know who picks up the full tab at the end of the line
But we producers and consumers are exacerbating
inflation in still other ways Producers seek to peddle
their wares by appealing to an apparently primal instinct
Consumers seem to crave pretty packages and producers
are more than willing to please us with extravagant
wrappings I have no complaint with functional
packaging It is considerably easier to carry home my
quart of milk m a container than to transport it without
any container at all
But too many producers are obsessed with the allure
of nonfunctional packaging It's bad enough that 10
percent of our grocery bills go for packaging It's simply
ludicrous that this packaging is predominantly
unnecessary and consequently ends up being sent to the
refuse heap So, when we are through preparing the
chemical feasts with which we set our tables in our
processed world we throw out all the packaging
Nationally, n costs us $4 billion a year to collect and
dispose of the mountains of packaging and wrappings
The waste we throw away in New York City alone costs
the average family $200 a year
Furthermore, it is estimated that unnecessary
packaging costs us the equivalent of one billion barrels
of oil a year That is a full 8% of the energy we used to
produce our entire Gross National Product in 1978, some
$2 1 trillion
-------
It is appalling to think that for every energy equiva-
lent of 12 5 barrels of oil we use, we lose one barrel for
nothing Not only do we lose it. but we must use more
energy still to produce the containers which will replace
the discarded ones Could anything else make the
relationship between oil consumption, inflation and
waste any clearer9
But we are throwing away more than just superfluous
packaging What we are really throwing away is a fair
chance to make the Eighties the time when we turn our
habits and talents around We can recycle our talent for
wasting into a talent for wisely using and conserving not
only our energy, but also all the resources of our lives
that are built around that energy use We seek an
effective and efficient energy use that can mean the
difference between our nation moving ahead or wasting
away
If you have any doubts that this propensity for waste
poses dire implications beyond the economic sphere, 1
ask you to take another look at Love Canal. It is not
possible to put a price tag on the medical, social and
psychological damage done to over 360 men, women and
children living adjacent to this Northwest New York
Canal Because the 22,000 tons of toxic wastes dumped
into this canal 30 years ago are just now beginning to
surface, we have not yet assessed the full scope of the
threat they pose Thousands of other potential Love
Canals are undetected around the United Slates, each of
them threatening to become a full-blown disaster before
we settle the problem of toxic wastes Can we as a nation
withstand the continuous blows to our economy and
society which waste hails down upon us'*
We must fight waste firmly and systematically. Th, •
requires a two-pronged approach comprising both
general and specific strategies.
The general strategy is the attuudmal change I
mentioned earlier Consumers and business must be on
the same side of the Tight against runaway inflation and
runaway energy costs, that is, if they want a country in
which to continue to buy and sell
The fight is the same one for both those who want a
safe environment and for those who want a strong
economy
We—business and consumers—can all pull together
because we all are players in the marketplace, where our
decisions to buy and sell determine what gets produced,
with which resources, and at what cost to the nation's
welfare and future
-------
There are two gods of the marketplace. Their names
are Supply and Demand, so we consumers have equal
power with producers to govern the way our country
uses its scarce and precious resources. And we both
depend on another god, our go-between Mercury, for
information
Consumers recognize they only need to know what it
is they are buying in order to make a sensible choice
Consumers know best, if they are informed What they
don't know does hurl them, and our country
Here is what 1 suggest we need to know to bring
business and government closer to the common goal, and
to encourage others to move off the sidelines, and take
their place with you.
Government, business, and consumers must get
together to put the spotlight on the sources of waste If
there is talk of a war on inflation, then a decisive
encounter is the battle against waste.
But once we have raised people's consciousness, we
still need some specific strategies by which to do
something about waste Actually, :r.is particular task is
more logical than some would have us believe
First of all. we must minimize—and where possible,
eliminate—the sources of waste Soaring energy prices
will, of course, induce businesses to produce more
efficiently But let's see to it that "the frill is gone "
Consumers must send the signals which notify producers
that excessive packaging is unnecessary and unwanted.
Secondly, and concomitantly, we must circumscribe
the impact which waste has on the environment. There
must be no more Love Canals
Thirdly, we must formulate incentives which induce
people to recycle Recycling is an essential component of
any strategy which seeks to make unadulterated waste
obsolete
And finally, but perhaps most significantly, this
decade's course will be determined by our level of
understanding and acceptance of what "conservation"
really means Conservation means producing the same or
more goods and services by using fewer resources, with
the same or lower costs
Why not lights that turn off after working hours in
large office buildings, instead of burning all day and
night9
Why not vegetables and fruits sold loose in a food
market, instead of packaged on a cardboard tray with a
cellophane wrapping7
Why not returnable bottles—which can save us $3 2
billion in the next five years alone7
For those who fear that conservation will result in loss
of jobs, answer that unfounded fear with a few well-
founded facts
-------
The New York State Energy Office, for example, has
concluded that a 1.8 percent annual growth in demand
for electricity is consistent with a 2.8 percent annual
growth in gross state product—and that spells jobs.
Consumers must be energy-conscious both in the use
of their own possessions, the mileage on the family car,
the use of television and household appliances, and also
in their new purchases. To help them conserve in their
purchases, manufacturers must be encouraged to list on
their labels, much as the Federal Trade Commission now
labels some goods, the facts about waste costs included
in the price of an item; perhaps eventual disposal costs
or other problems that disposal might present could also
be presented. It's an essential part of the information a
consumer concerned about saving energy and reducing
waste should have before making a purchase.
Finally, there should also be a reduction in the army
of excessive packaging and waste-generating products on
the store shelves. I propose to you a concept that worked
when I was Commissioner of Consumer Affairs. I
introduced unit-pricing in our area—that helped
consumers determine which package had more value for
the money—but it didn't resolve the problem of the
confusing link between packaging, operating and waste.
Art Purcell has taken unit-pricing one step further in
his new book. The Waste Watchers. His concept of waste
unit-pricing ... an effective "waste alert" to the true
costs of a product.
I suggest the Eighties be the decade we consider "waste
unit pricing," a standard measure that would identify the
percentage of the product's cost, due to the energy and
waste generated during production. A further measure
would identify the product's waste cost once the
consumer had exhausted the product's useful life and
planned to dispose of it. Dcgradablc material and
suitbility for recycling are qualities that would attract the
informed consumer. For appliances, a final measure
similar to the FTC labeling would show the average
annual operating costs of both the most and least
efficient models of the same appliance
This agenda suggests a course of action. While the
responsiveness of government at every level, and the
initiative of business, and the skill and leadership of
individuals are essential to achieving conservation and
recycling goals, the key role must be played by grassroots
consumers. The inertia of government agencies and
decision-makers too often makes them unresponsive—
unless the votes of consumers nudge them. Businesses
too often are content with business-as-usual—unless
consumers remind them of their responsibility.
-------
We should remind the government that it must play an
active, dynamic role in countering waste. When
purchasing mass transit equipment, for example,
attention must be given to he buses' and subways' energy
efficiency. The government can also lead by example
simply by cleaning its own house: by making its own
buildings as energy-efficient as possible. Finally,
government can also help close the gap between buyers
and sellers by encouraging full pricing disclosures and
helping to determine how much of any given price rise is
legitimate, and how much is just a greedy thumb on the
scale.
Business must be encouraged to move ahead on the
conservation and recycling road, through tax incentives
and credits for energy-efficient modernization of facilities
and production methods.
As voters, we can and must make waste the political
issue of our time. Let's remind our decision-makers that
we want to have a few decisions come our way, at long
last, instead of to those who push for bigger and better
waste.
I trust you can tell that I think what you and everyone
in waste alert are doing is a high priority item on our
national agenda. Grassroots consumer and citizens
groups are needed to support a partnership between
government, business and consumers to clean the waste
out of the marketplace. And in this decade, as in no
other, the grassroots consumer and citizens groups must
be prepared to take the initiative if the other partners are
lagging.
We're the ones who wind up with the bills for waste—
and we're the ones who get bruised by waste.
We want that changed right now, because we don't
have any time to waste.
-------
EPA is charged by Congress to protect the Nation's land, air and water
systems Under a mandate of national environmental laws focused on air
and water quality, solid waste management and the control of toxic
substances, pesticides, noise and radiation, the Agency strives to formulate
and implement actions which lead to a compatible balance between human
activities and the ability of natural systems to support and nurture life
If you have suggestions, questions
or requests for further information, they
may be directed to your nearest
EPA Regional public information office
EPA Region 1 »JFK
Federal Bldg • Boston
MA 02203 • Connec-
ticut. Maine. Massachu-
setts. New Hampshire.
Rhode Island. Vermont •
617-223-7223
EPA Region 2 • 26
Federal Plaza • New
York NY 10007. New
Jersey. New York, Puer-
to Rico. Virgin Islands •
212-264-2515
EPA Region 3 • 6th
and Walnut Streets •
Philadelphia PA 19106
• Delaware, Maryland.
Pennsylvania. Virginia.
West Virginia. District of
Columbia •
215-597-4O81
EPA Region 4 • 345
Courtland Street NE •
Atlanta GA 30308 •
Alabama. Georgia,
Florida, Mississippi,
North Carolina. South
Carolina, Tennessee.
Kentucky •
404-881-3O04
EPA Region 5 • 230 S
Dearborn • Chicago IL
60604 • Illinois. Indiana,
Ohio. Michigan. Wiscon-
sin. Minnesota •
312-353-2072
EPA Region 6* 1201
Elm Street* DallasTX
75270 • Arkansas. Loui-
siana. Oklahoma. Texas.
New Mexico •
214-767-2630
EPA Region 7 • 324
East 11th Street*
Kansas City MO
64106 • Iowa. Kansas.
Missouri. Nebraska •
816-374-6201
EPA Region 8* 1860
Lincoln Street •
Denver CO 80295 • Col-
orado. Utah, Wyoming.
Montana. North Dakota.
South Dakota •
303-837-3878
EPA Region 9» 215
Fremont Street • San
Francisco CA 94105 •
Arizona California, Hawaii
Nevada, Pacific Islands
• 415-556-1840
EPA Region 10* 1200
Sixth Avenue • Seattle
WA981O1 -Alaska.
Idaho. Oregon, Washing-
ton • 2O6-44 2-1203
si
to n
7=
58
01 I/I
o
10
a
2 §
S ?
------- |