Pollution and Consumerism Essay

With modernization and development comes some disadvantages, one of the main consequences being the pollution that has increased as a result of this. With an increase in the global population and the rising demand for food, goods, and other essentials, there has been a rise in the amount of waste being generated daily by each household on a global scale. The manufacturing process turns raw materials into useful goods. But some of the by-products of manufacturing, waste materials left over, or substances produced by the manufacturing process itself, may be harmful to the environment. We discard or throw away things because they are no longer of any use to us or they might be unwanted, defective, old, or worthless. Such objects that are no longer of any use to us which can be in the form of solid, liquid, semi-solid, or containerized gaseous material are called waste. Examples of solid waste materials when they are discarded are furniture, toys, scrap metal, garbage, construction and demolition debris, vehicles, appliances, and so on. When these solid waste materials begin to harm the environment in any way they become pollutants because they damage the quality of air, water, or land, or sometimes all three.

The area of focus concerning solid waste pollution will be in the Durban North community in the informal settlements on Malacca Road and the middle-class areas in the residential area. It is impossible to overlook the informal settlements in the community since the most solid waste pollution can be seen here daily. However, most consumption takes place in the middle-class areas but it is noted that the environment is more well taken care of.

The South African society today is one of many societies to be involved in the process of mass consumption. Increased consumerism also increases the consumption of goods. In today’s society consumerism is often portrayed to be a negative aspect of behavior in people’s lives and purchasing behaviors which eventually leads to materialism. Increased consumerism has the consequence of contributing to pollution. The culture of takeaway is also the culture of throwaway and it has become common practice that if there is no litter bin available, or if it’s full that’s too bad. People prefer the easier way which is to dump. However, that does not necessarily mean that one man’s trash is the same as what another person considers disposable. It is a very evident factor in the settlement. They make use of what they have and what they can get. In this case, it is clear that their priorities do not lie with the health and safety of the environment but rather their survival, and as such it can be deduced that they do not feel as though they are a part of nature but rather apart from it. Other residents in the community do value the environment more as there is hardly any evidence of solid waste pollution in the middle-class areas of the community. There is more of a balance between the environment and materialism.

There is environmental awareness in the community since there is a local dump provided to discard and dispose of all waste materials which is positioned directly opposite the the informal settlements. The fact that there is a dump that is easily accessible to all the in community but is hardly being made use of implies that it is more the attitudes of the residents that need to change toward keeping the environment safe and clean. Another factor that is concerning is that there is little to no evidence of recycling throughout the whole community. On garbage collection days there are hardly any orange bags used which are supposed to be provided by the municipality. The orange bags are supposed to be used for recycling to lessen the strain on the environment and contribute to mass production.

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There is alarmingly less concern than there should be about the appalling littering along South Africa’s highways, townships, and cities and the litter to be found even in many of South Africa’s beauty spots. It is a threat to this country’s tourist industry as it means less appeal and attraction and that in turn, means fewer jobs and less appeal for enjoyment by outsiders and our citizens.

There are many health hazards associated with solid waste pollution especially where there is an accumulation of it. Rats and insects can easily invade areas such as refuse dumps where there is solid waste present and spread various diseases. Water and food can become contaminated by flies which could cause various diseases in humans such as dysentery, diarrhea, and amoebic dysentery. Rats dwelling with infectious solid wastes may spread diseases like plague, salmonellosis, trichinosis, endemic typhus, etc. When dealing with the disposal of hospital and other medical waste it requires special attention since this can create major health hazards. This waste generated from hospitals, health care centers, medical laboratories, and research centers such as discarded syringe needles, bandages, swabs, plasters, and other types of infectious waste is often disposed of with regular non-infectious waste. Water supplies have the potential to become contaminated with pathogens present in solid wastes which may result in cholera, jaundice, hepatitis, gastroenteric diseases, etc. The clogging of drains and gully pits by the solid wastes results in water logging which facilitates the breeding of mosquitoes and results in the spread of diseases like malaria and plague.

The sources of the cause of the increase in pollution lie with the people and how they deal with waste management. Their attitudes and perceptions, educational status, and income are significant factors that contribute to effective waste management processes. South Africa's history of apartheid has played a major role in contributing to the poverty crisis and lack of education of many people who live in the poorer areas in South Africa. They have suffered a lack of education on the subject of the environment and as a result, don’t consider the state of the environment as one of their priorities and cannot comprehend the future implications of their actions that polluting will lead to. As such these communities do not feel obligated to care about the health and state of the environment and therefore do not feel that they are a part of nature but instead apart from it. Other groups of people who are better off than those communities tend to have a negative attitude toward following regulatory procedures for waste management. In these cases, residents need to become responsible for caring for their environment and a different mindset towards solid waste is needed.

The government and municipalities should provide well-maintained and legal dumping sites for people to effectively dispose of their trash. This alone will go a long way in helping reduce the problem in all communities. Public resources and requirements to aid in the assistance of waste collection should be provided for by the government. Things such as collection lorries, appropriate waste sites and disposal mechanisms, and litter bins. What is also required is a far greater effort by government and ordinary citizens to lessen and manage the waste encouraged by excess packaging by the process of recycling, reusing, and being mindful of trying to reduce the amount of waste we produce by not giving into the culture of consumerism so easily. A community initiative needs to be created to raise awareness about the effects of incorrect waste management as well as put pressure on government officials and punish perpetrators who do not abide by the laws put forth. The lack of effort by municipalities to encourage recycling is appalling, especially in middle-class, high-consumption areas which has been taken note of in my community and other communities where this would be easy to implement. By educating more and more communities about solid waste management, the importance of environmental health, and recycling, a starting point will be established to reduce pollution. With the aid of the government and even ordinary citizens, this knowledge can be put into practical use by creating jobs and roles for people who need work. In this sense, it can be seen as a win-win situation since more people can get jobs and both the people and the environment will benefit.