Today, it’s hard to imagine a world without single-use packaging. But before the 1950s, we reused a lot of packaging. For example, people would buy milk in glass bottles and return the empty bottles to the store. Then the bottles were cleaned, refilled, and sold again. Litter and trash were not significant issues because Americans reused as much as possible.
After World War II, companies decided to use lighter, single-use bottles to reduce costs. This saved companies a lot of money. Corporations were able to pass along the cost of packaging to consumers, expand their distribution, and increase profits. But this created trash.
Even though corporations created the waste crisis, they did nothing to manage the environmental impact of their trash. Businesses were able to pass off the environmental costs of their business to the public. Whereas before, they were forced to pay for the cleaning and recycling of their containers, they now passed that cost off to communities where trash was piling up.
The packaging industry and large companies like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola wanted to protect their new profits. They created a public advertising campaign called “Keep America Beautiful.” The campaign’s only goal was to reduce litter without harming consumer culture. It promoted the idea that litter was the fault of consumers, not the polluting corporations.
So, in reality, Keep America Beautiful was formed by the beverage and packaging industries to protect their profits and prevent stiffer government regulations. Companies saw the growing problems of litter and waste as a public issue that they could address through public service announcements and civic engagement, rather than by regulating their own products.
Regardless of the motives for the formation of Keep America Beautiful, I think most of us can agree that the organization has evolved into an incredible model for state and local affiliates by providing guidance, programs and resources, like grants, needed to address local environmental challenges effectively.
The next Drug Take Back day is on Saturday October 25th from 10 am to 2 pm at Hays County Constables Precinct 3, 200 Stillwater Dr. in Wimberley. Drop off expired or unused medications for safe and confidential disposal through the DEA program.
