Looking at the world around us, you are likely to be shocked by how much waste is created by modern living. Over 185 million pounds of plastic are thrown away by the average American per year. This equates to well over 14 billion pounds during the average American’s life. Clearly, serious problems exist with waste in the United States. However, this is not the extent of our wasteful culture and certainly not the most relevant for the average person.

In our modern world, it can be difficult for people to resist the urge of buying new products. The constant upgrades to technology, and relatively universal nature of large-scale shopping centers and malls encourage people to abandon their possessions at the first sign of a fault and simply buy another.