Vital Waste Graphics 2

NEW TRENDS IN CONSUMPTION The relativity of “Basic Needs” Several trends characterise modern consumer goods. Our appetite for them con- tinues to grow, with product ranges growing too. Meanwhile the average lifespan of many products is shortening. 80% of what we make is thrown away within six months of production. Each product contains more components and they are usu- ally more difficult to biodegrade than before. All of which complicates the way prod- ucts are processed once they become waste.

New products The electronic era that started 30 or 40 years ago has revo- lutionised the way we work and communicate. Digital de- vices are omnipresent in business and in everyday life. But a closer look shows they are not always essential. They are governed by fashion and innovation, so we “have” to buy the latest gadget increasingly often, turning the previ- ous one into electronic waste all the sooner. For instance ten years ago we used a notebook as a diary. Now even schoolchildren “need” an energy-hungry electronic for a similar purpose. Gadget today, garbage tomorrow Our modern world is full of gadgets we can have for free: a plastic ball in the cereal pack or a hand bag with the per- fume. Start a new cellphone contract and pick up a mobile. Subscribe to the daily newspaper and get a TV magazine too. As we never wanted them in the first place, these gad- gets turn into trash even faster than other goods.

Thousand thousand million dollars

25

20

Global household expenditure

15

10

5

Source: World Bank online database, 2006.

0

1970

1980

1990

2000 2003

Number of items per 100 Chinese households Consumer items in China

Household expenditure per capita Thousand dollars

200

6 8 10 12 14 16 16 18

Norway

150

Cities

Bicycle

The Netherlands

Colour TV Cell phone

Spain

100

New Zealand

Fridge

50

Poland

Computer Car

4

0

0

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2004

150

Household waste generation per capita Kilograms

Bicycle

100

600

Colour TV

The Netherlands

Countryside

50

500

Spain

Cell phone

New Zealand

400

Fridge

0

Norway

1985

1990 1995

2000 2004

300

Sources: China Statistical Yearbook 1996, 2001 and 2005.

Poland

200

The impact of income on lifestyle is ap- parent in China like elsewhere. There has been a massive surge in all consumer goods with rising income in towns. The same trend can be observed to a much lesser extent in the country.

100 0

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2002

Sources: World Bank online database, 2006 ; OECD Environmental Data 2004 .