Retail waste is one of the largest contributors to landfills and global carbon emissions. 5 billion pounds of returned goods end up in US landfills every year, even if the item is in good condition. Most of the time, retailers don’t resell the items because it’s better for their bottom line to just trash it.
Increases in online shopping creates packaging waste and transportation emissions. Over 82 million tons of packaging and containers are discarded in a year, while hauling inventory creates of 15 million tons of carbon dioxide, which is more than the total emissions of 3 million cars in that same year.
In fact, the number of returns increases so much during and after the holidays, that the UPS has dubbed January 2nd as “National Returns Day”.
In 2017, Amazon shipped more than 5 billion packages worldwide through Prime alone. Data from FedEx, USPS, and UPS estimate around 165 billion packages are shipped each year, which roughly equates to 1 billion trees cut down for packaging materials.
Our oceans have an estimated 10 million metric tons of plastic in them.
All these statistics can feel foreboding for the world we live in, with our growing population and consumption needs. However, there are a few things that can be done to combat this, both from a corporate and individual perspective.
Amazon has implemented something called “amazon day”, where packages are shipped out together instead of in multiple small boxes. This means that less packaging is being used to send goods across the world.
Amazon also implements collection centers, such as Whole Foods and Amazon lockers, where people can bring in their returns rather than purchasing shipping supplies to mail it back.
As a company, it is always possible to send inventory slightly less frequently with the goal of generating less shipping waste.
As an individual, taking advantage of these programs might mean you wait a little bit longer for your items, or need to take an extra hour for your returns, but the collective environmental impact will be worth it.
Retailers will often weigh the cost of a returned good with their bottom line. They see an item that they need to process, repackage, reship, restock, and resell. All of that costs money, so why not just trash that item.
Rather than giving companies the opportunity to throw away a useable item, you can donate it instead. Bring clothes to your local thrift or closet-trade store. You can bring electronics to a reseller. Someone else may be able to make use of the things you’re keen to get rid of.
Food waste generates over 1.3 billion tons of waste, which equates to approximately one-third of all food generated for human consumption.
Meanwhile, 1 in 10 people worldwide goes to bed with an empty stomach.
“There’s got to be something we can do?!”
There is.
As a company, you can implement more frequent deliveries of smaller amounts of food rather than large deliveries of food less frequently. This allows for produce to stay fresh enough to be bought over a shorter period of time.
Trader Joe’s has implemented a donation program that donates products not fit for sale, but still safe for consumption, to local soup kitchens and community resources.
Food can be collected and sent as scraps to farms. Minnesota public schools have collected food scraps since 2005 to give to local farms. The donated food scraps save $975 per day in landfill disposal fees.
As an individual, speak with local representatives to implement programs like this. You can talk with schools, churches, and other large local organizations to help provide food to your community.
When you run a business, it can be easy to go the cheaper, faster route. However, it is up to you to make the changes that positively impact the world around you.
When you work with green packaging and suppliers, you are reducing the energy and materials needed to make new packaging and supplies. This reduces the waste created by disposing of old materials, reduces emissions on machinery and transportation, and reduces the amount of raw materials that need to be collected from the environment.
You can also implement business programs within your company to help reduce the amount of waste you produce. You can incentivize reusable bags and containers. Create a buy-back program so that goods may be able to find a second life. You can also discount damaged products that you normally wouldn’t display on your shelves.
This tip is for the chronic online shoppers. We know it can be easy to buy three pairs of pants to try on at home and then return the ones you don’t want. Or maybe you’re purchasing materials for a project and saying you’ll return what you don’t use.
While the impermanence offered by free shipping and returns can be enticing, the impacts on the environment can be permanent.
By reducing the items to send back, you’re reducing the amount of packaging being used, the CO2 emissions made in shipping, and the emissions and materials needed to make entirely new items.
This might take a little extra time and effort, but your help in supporting greater environmental needs is everlasting.
Don’t let the enormity of retail waste prevent you from having a good time
While it can sometimes seem like we’re at the end of days, with the constant barrage of bad news regarding climate and environmental catastrophes, there are small things that can be implemented at the individual level all the way up to a corporate level to remedy it.
Above, we offered small tips and guidelines to start the conversation within your company and community to help the environmental impact of waste, but it’s up to all of us to work together to protect the world we have.
Discount Dumpster is committed to environmental safety and sustainability. We work with local landfills and communities to make sure that the waste that’s tossed in our dumpster rentals are disposed of in an effective and helpful way.
Join us in our endeavor to make our communities a little more sustainable.
Table of Contents Complications with Treated Wood Disposal How to Dispose of Treated Wood and Lumber 1. Reuse and Recycle 2. Local Waste Facilities 3. Professional Waste Removal Service Take Care When Disposing of Treated Wood Treated wood is considered a treated article and is regulated by the EPA. This means that the chemicals used […]
Table of Contents Complications with Pesticide Use and Disposal Are Pesticides Considered Hazardous Waste? How to Dispose of Pesticides 1. Read the Label/Calculate How Much You Need 2. Donate or Give Away 3. Store in a Safe Area 4. Triple Rinse Your Empty Containers 5. Toss Your Pesticide Container Safely 6. Call a Disposal Company […]