04/28/2002
Urban Waste Abatement Kit
This would be a good project for an Environmental Science/ Education Student. The physical object is quite simple, but the institution of the system would require much research and involvement.
The actuall object: A backpack that holds a 32oz thermal mug, a set of flatware, and a lenin napkin.
The hard part: One would need to do a cost analysis comparison between cost of waste removal and landfill use to the cost of distributing such a kit to all citizens of any given urban area. My assumption is that it would be very expensive to issue the kits initially, but over time the city/ community would save money from waste removal and landfill usage. The idea is to cut back on paper and styro waste from restaraunts and convenieance stores by issueing every citizen his/her own set of wares. This not only would cut back on the amount of waste, but also on the amount of litter, so there would certainly be an aesthetic value to it also. Businesses may even chose to get involved by offering discounts to patrons who bring in their own cups/ forks/ napkins etc.
I live in a somewhat progressive community, and I've seen many of the indie kids in town allready doing this on their own. I think it is a lovely idea which large urban areas could really put to good use.
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