Student reflection on Waste and the Butterfly Effect
Angelina Di Fiore below, or you can
Waste is a design flaw of systems and products. Waste is the design, or lack of credible design, of various industries. A smaller tweak to a system, can vastly reduce or increase waste generation. Waste is a principle in the butterfly effect. The butterfly effect is a term from chaos theory; That small, seemingly insignificant inputs, can severely alter a system’s outputs. Small changes in resource extraction or manufacturing processes can reduce waste across supply chains, change consumer mentalities, and influence industry standards. Focusing on abundance, rather than scarcity, can improve environmental health, human health, and reinforce positive societal behavior. A small marketing and public relations shift, can allow for consumers to shop for products that cause the least amount of irreparable planetary harm. Policy solutions are necessary as they enforce systemic change rather than individual behaviors. Policy and structural changes can shift from a linear economy to a circular economy. Sustainability requires redesigning economic principles and manufacturing processes to remain within the limits of planetary entropy. An example of supply chain waste generation is packaging materials. Using traditional methods like plastic and styrofoam can add tons of waste to landfills. Focusing on biodegradable packaging materials allows for new industries and job sectors to emerge. Sectors include research and development, logistics and supply chain, and manufacturing. While the butterfly effect is typically referred to in a context of negative consequences, the principle can apply in enabling eco-friendly technologies, philosophies, and impacts. We can’t eliminate waste completely, but we can change our attitude toward waste generation and dramatically reduce generations.
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