Learning That Waste Begets Waste!

Ahh, the yearly office holiday cards. Sure, there are "eco-friendly" cards with envelopes made from recycled product... blah blah woof woof... and yeah it is a nice sentiment and people appreciate it... Sigh... and really what else do you do, it's expected, it's the "proper" thing to do, it's rude if you don't, and oh it makes people feel so nice for, what? three seconds? Maybe I'm not giving the whole thing enough credit.

Nah.

Some traditions can go away, slip away into the great night, never to be heard from again. If I can get myself past the thought of the cards themselves (which I can't anyway), then looking at the waste AROUND the waste is enough to send me over. Think about it: You got the cards. You got all the packaging the cards came in. You got the plastic that they wrap around the bundles of cards to keep them fresh. (???!) You got the boxes.

THEN... you print out the labels. Printer cartridge waste created. Then you have the empty pages of non-recyclable stuff the labels were peeled from. And then you have the strips of crap from the envelopes that cover the sticky part because, you know, who the heck wants to actually have to lick or moisten the envelope to seal it?

If we look and think just a little past, beyond... then the obvious waste is even more wasteful. Can't we re-think some of this stuff? Must we keep on in the same tracks and habits? Who is profiting? Who is gaining? Who is losing?

Where do YOU see more waste that goes below the surface of it all?