Verandah Musings 4: The Junk of the Janitor.

Waste management data indicate that the U.S. produces 268 million tons of waste — 140 million going into landfills — each year, with the average American tossing 4.5 pounds of trash per day. This includes:

• 30.63 million tons of food.
• 26.82 million tons of plastic.
• 18.35 million tons of paper and paperboard.
• 13.8 million tons of metals.
• 12.14 million tons of wood.
• 11.15 million tons of textile.
• 8.65 million tons of yard trimmings.
• 6.87 million tons of glass.

What exactly is junk? Stuff that is useless, that we don't need or use and ends up in the trash. It is all around us, in our homes, at our work place, in our cafeterias or break-rooms, in our parks and walking trails. They are the default byproduct of our ways of living. The more the trash and waste, the lesser advanced the society is, in terms of being conscious of the destructive properties incurred at higher costs and utilization, and the lack of mindful use of resources in day to day life.

Why do we have so much junk? A lot of this is the result of processes and products that are shown and sold to us that we follow suit without thinking twice. For example take grocery shopping. I walk in on impulse or a pressing need, grab the cart kept outside, go through the aisles and pick up stuff that is offered by them, on a perceived need, and then check out. Before I know, the cart is full and overflowing. Pretty soon I have all these bags bursting on their brims in a loaded cart; so much so, I need a leg to swing under the rear door of my vehicle to open it! Loading follows. On the way back the text ding goes off on the phone and a message pops up "honey, don't forget the laundry detergent and the dog food." The car comes to a screeching slow down, turns around at the next left turn and speeds right back to the store and here we go again. This time Dad gets back home with that chest thrust out, and a proud I've-got-this-honey-you'll-be-proud-of-me look. The emptying process starts. The groceries are emptied and, yes, you guessed it , the trash can is full...with one grocery trip. And wait... a voice comes floating down the hallway "Honey you forgot the sugar" !!

By instinct we buy (furniture, clothes, shoes, watches, jewelry, trinkets) attracted to style and drawn into it with ads, chats in friendship circles creating a craving sense and perceived need of want in us subconsciously. The biochemical responses include an internal dopamine and some adrenergic hormone release that accompany the search and possession of the same giving us a sense of pleasure. If it is a "good deal" its even more. That's just fine; however if that's chased without restraint (the body default is so that it seeks more of the pleasurable feelings) the house becomes crowded and cluttered. So we start paying for storage places. Clutter in the house is depressing and so is the payment for and maintenance of the storage.

How do we reduce junk and clutter in our lives?. Consider a different way in the same example. My wife and I have changed the grocery shopping process. We prepare a list for every 2 weeks or every week and store it on the phone/laptop. I go in with the planned list. I use recyclable bags - they are inexpensive. Buy whole foods with minimal processing and packaging. Not only is the bill less, it is healthier, I get what I need and not what I want on sight. On unpacking there is less trash. Most leftover food can be redone into another dish, frozen, or used for composting. It sounds time consuming and yes, it is so the first couple of times. Then the ease, savings of time, money, and some satisfaction in the how that was done sets in. No lingering guilt and headache after that. Yes, it is a work in progress. Paper mail, is another source. Going paperless is nothing new.

At work, keeping the area lean and clean, adds efficiency with greater focus in the area and increased clarity of thought. Use what's needed. In patient care do what is needful that would help in the diagnosis or outcome not because it can be done and is out there.

Changing to recyclable, refillable, reusable utensils and buying in bulk are some of the ways to cut down waste. Mindful and disciplined use of resources at work helps. Solutions also include creative and lean use of work resources, materials, spaces and processes. Lean six sigma training helps to cement some of these at work. What if we dispose of our own junk and trash at the end of the day, will we have more awareness and mindfulness?

Mandates and policies that can facilitate waste reduction: Switzerland has 100% waste recovery, with 53% of waste recovered through recycling and composting, and 47% incinerated for energy. Closely following are countries like Sweden and Denmark. In Germany a packaging act requires manufacturers to contribute to the cost of recycling their packaging. Among the South East Asian countries, Indonesia and Japan are said to be spearheading measures towards diminishing waste.

The one thing that janitors get rid of is junk. Everyday junk, that you and I generate as listed above. They themselves don't bring any to work. They get rid of others' junk. At the end of their day's (or night's) work they have monstrous bags the size and number of which is sure to astound us. All that stuff spawned from one day, from just from one building! Imagine...so much that we have to employ people to take care of just junk. They walk away after getting rid of what we contributed to the junk space.

A lean lifestyle includes simplicity, synergy, synchronicity and sustainability. It excites me to learn, ponder and explore these concepts, break them down and see how we can utilize them with intentionality, purpose and meaning every day.

Warmly

Cecil Thoppil

P.S.The above article was written without any AI help.