Out of sight, Out of mind

Sometimes we live in a little bubble, our own little world .. so dare I ask.. Where does it go? I'm talking of course about garbage. Not that it's a particularly interesting blog post, but hey, it's a part of life. There are times when it seems to ~~ magically disappear ~~ , definitely from our perspectives, or from our proximity: Out of sight, Out of mind. But we all know that in reality, it's not really gone. So what happens to it? Well, most of you will answer "the dump". And you'd be correct. But let's widen that bubble here.

Until I started working in claims, I was like you .. out of sight, out of mind. Someone else's problem, someone else made it go away, and I didn't have to think about it. But my eyes and awareness are open even more now. Yes, we all know that Walmart is well known as "the place that takes anything back". In a way, that is very true. But I'm finding that I don' t like the reasons things are brought back. Like today, a handheld grinder, sells for about $25. It was returned, and my guess is that it was used to do a certain job, then returned, because it was no longer needed. But what happens to that item now? In truth? It can't be resold, we dont deal in "used merchandise". So yes, it goes in the compactor, more landfill. The same with packages that are plastic wrapped, like toilet paper? can't be resold. more landfill. And just think ... it's not just my store, but thousands of all kinds of stores, on every corner, in every city, in every state .. they all deal with this same issue: what to do with the stuff that has no where else to go??

I also know that when we buy things, they have to be packaged, but have you noticed that lately, there's more packaging than there is of the item you purchased? I am happy to note that retailers and suppliers are working together to create better packaging and less waste. Which is good for the environment, and ultimately for consumers as well. Less packaging leads to lower prices for us consumers.

Our economy has been pretty rough lately; and we all need to be more creative in our spending, and also with how we use things. It may take a few moments of time to wash a dish rather than using paper plates; or using a cloth that gets rinsed or washed in the washer instead of a paper towel; because in the long run, you save money, and the landfills. We all need to do our part in the "go green" campaign, but more important, if we find a way to reuse what we have, and don't buy something else that might do the same job ... we save resources, and our money.

Which makes us truly $$.in.$$.the.$$.green.$$

HUGS to everyone!