LIBRARY NOTES

USING LESS IN THE NEW YEAR


PAUL BIRKHEAD

Have you ever noticed the piles of trash that collect on curbsides the day after Christmas? The amount of paper and cardboard that gets thrown away is quite staggering. However, in a day or two, the refuse gets carted away and the problem appears solved, right? Not quite. Let the resources at Rowan Public Library educate you about what happens to all the trash that we generate, why we throw away so much, and what we can do to lessen our impact on the environment.

Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash is a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Humes. In Garbology, Humes gives the reader an inside look at what happens to the roughly 102 tons of garbage that an average American generates over a lifetime. The journey from curb to landfill is both fascinating and heartbreaking. It is especially disheartening to learn that edible food makes up a large portion of our trash.

Food waste is the topic of the book, American Wasteland, by Jonathan Bloom. Bloom makes a point that even as grocery prices skyrocket, the amount of food Americans squander continues to increase. One reason might be that Americans are more detached than ever from the sources of their food. Another reason is that fewer Americans have memories of times when food was not in abundance, such as during the Great Depression. The problem of food waste can also be partially blamed on modern technology. In a sad bit of irony, modern-day, efficient refrigerators and freezers have enabled us to keep food longer, but it has also made it easier to forget about food until it’s too late to salvage.

Don’t Throw It Out is a book by the editors of Yankee Magazine. Inside the book are hundreds of nifty and thrifty ideas to help you waste less and save more. Want to get that last bit of ketchup out of the bottle, keep your eggs fresh, or bring biscuits back to life? Practical tips are shared so the reader can tackle questions that crop up in the kitchen. In fact, the book analyzes every room of a typical house and advice is given to “make it last”, “fix it fast”, and “pass it along” the right way.

In the coming year, let us all pledge to be mindful of the three R’s of the environment: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Also, don’t forget to stop by Rowan Public Library and check out a book or two. It’s the ultimate in book recycling.