Friday, April 17, 2009
The lesson of the beer cup
A friend of mine recently conducted a waste management experiment while at a Calgary Flames hockey game. Instead of throwing his recently emptied beer cup away and starting with a fresh one, he took his perfectly functional, but used cup to get a refill. His plan was thwarted immediately. Whether it was a Saddledome policy or a health regulation, he was told he had to use a new container if he wanted another beer. He was thirsty. He had no choice. The poor guy.
A friend of mine recently conducted a waste management experiment while at a Calgary Flames hockey game. Instead of throwing his recently emptied beer cup away and starting with a fresh one, he took his perfectly functional, but used cup to get a refill. His plan was thwarted immediately. Whether it was a Saddledome policy or a health regulation, he was told he had to use a new container if he wanted another beer. He was thirsty. He had no choice. The poor guy.
Undeterred, he accepted his new beer in a new vessel, but tried to leave without a lid on his new beer cup. He was told that he must use the lid if he wanted to walk back to his seat. Waste reduction strike two.
This is just a simple story that highlights the importance of understanding choice within a context. Often, we simplify issues of sustainability down to personal choice - a do the right thing sort of argument. The trouble is that we often neglect the fact that choices are informed - or in the case of the beer cup - directed a certain way because of the context in which those choices exist. So whether it's issues of beer cup reuse or urban public policy, more focus needs to be put onto the context that influences individual choices. Otherwise, we're asking hockey fans to make a choice between one less cup in the garbage and another beer. Hockey fans get thirsty - I think you know which one would lose out more often than not.
- John, April 17, 2009
Labels: feedback, sustainability
¶ 7:04 AM
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