By Peter Galuszka
As the holidays approach, what happens to the gifts after you give them?
Many end up in the trash.
I pondered those questions in the December issue of the Chesterfield and Henrico Monthlies. It deals with a polyglot of forces including the planned obsolescence of many goods, especially electronics, global trade cycles, and, most important of all, how Virginia communities deal with disposing of their gifts once they are no longer the latest “in” thing?
“The Throwaway Society” dates back maybe 70 or more years. It is not a new concept at all and it actually hit its prime in the 1940s when it was popularized by the very same industrial designer who gave us the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.
Today, the cycle often begins at a Chinese wharf and circumnavigates the world. Playing integral roles are lowly county dumps and the companies they hire to recycle what they can and dispose of hazardous materials found in virtually anything electronic.
It’s an off-beat story but it may be a fun read.
Not to spoil your Christmas or anything.
