Introduction: The environmental impact on consumption differs per product based on production, use and disposal of. Every day we make choices like choosing paper or plastic- without truly understanding the process from conception to landfill. These choices can determine how much garbage is produced. As consumers, we typically see a product for only a short phase of its existence- that phase in which the product is useful to us. For example: we may purchase a non biodegradable styrofoam cup, use it for a hot beverage, and then throw it away. What is not often taken into consideration, however, is that the raw materials needed to make the cup are extracted from the natural environment and the manufacturing process or the transportation of the product often causes pollution. To get a sense of just how much garbage we produce and its financial and environmental costs, we must consider all phases of a consumer product, from its origin to its disposal.
A paper milk carton can illustrate the entire life-cycle process: (1) harvesting wood, (2) making paper, (3) processing paper into a labeled container and filling the container with milk, (4) transporting the milk carton to the store where it is purchased, and (5) disposing of the empty milk carton. (For this lesson, students can save their milk carton from breakfast that morning, as provided by New Haven Public Schools) Students can create a life cycle chain that outlines the steps from product design to disposal.
Students need also to understand the following key vocabulary terms. Eco-consciousness: How one thinks about the entire ecosystem, including how the ecosystem is affected by the life cycle of a consumer product. To be eco-conscious is to select products and services that will result in less waste and use less energy. Ecosystem: "Eco" means how living organisms relate to their environment as a whole. A "system" is a group of parts interacting and interrelating together as a whole. Life Cycle: The total process of creating, using, and disposing of consumer products made from the earth's resources. Recycle: The reuse of a material for producing consumer products. Reuse: To use a product more than once.
Life-Cycle Steps- students use the steps to create a timeline or graphic organizer.
(1) All consumer products begin their life cycles with a dependence on the natural environment. Some form of energy is always required to extract the natural resources from the earth or its atmosphere. To produce fiber, trees must be grown and harvested. To produce plastic coatings, petroleum and natural gas must be extracted from the earth. (2) Raw materials are processed or refined. For example, wood fiber is processed into cardboard and natural gas is processed into plastic resin. Energy is required for the processing and refining. (3) Additional energy is required as processed or refined materials move through the manufacturing and assembly processes. (4) Consumer products are transported to stores (consuming additional energy) and are ready for purchase. Products remain at this stage as long as they are usable or repairable. (5) The product is no longer of use to us and we dispose of it.
It is imperative to consider that all products we purchase or use are dependent on energy resources before and after they come into contact with us. After the product leaves our hands, it can be used many times or recycled. Perhaps a new use for a product can be found by selling it at a yard sale or trading it with a friend. In doing this, it continues to serve a useful purpose.
Eventually, when repair or recycling is no longer possible, the product needs to be disposed of, which means the product or its parts are returned to the earth. Returning a product to the earth occurs when we bury garbage in a landfill, burn combustible materials to recover energy (air emissions and ash disposal), or compost materials (carbon dioxide, water, and "soil-like" materials). Choosing the best method of disposal will depend on the materials the product is made of and the options available at a specific location. We should choose the disposal method that has the lowest impact or least negative impact on human health and environmental quality.
Sometimes, a product that is convenient in the short run may use more energy or cause more disposal problems than a less attractive product. A product that is less expensive at the point of purchase may also have hidden costs in terms of high energy use or low potential for reuse. As consumers we should remember to look at the relationship between consumerism (what we buy) and the natural resources (that are used to design, transport and dispose of) the product when we make our choices. (Barber, 1993)
