Industry’s disposability deception

Industry’s disposability deception
Eve Schaub, author of ‘Year of No Garbage,’ had a gratifying moment when her local butcher let her bring her own container. Refilling reusable receptacles is one way of radically reducing our output of nonrecyclable, ‘forever’ plastic trash, which also leaches toxins into the food. 
Photo by Stephen Schaub

SHARON  —  Like a guerrilla warrior in the jungles of American consumerism, author Eve Schaub slashes away at the falsehoods and obfuscations of an industry founded on disposability, hoping to leave behind an activism born of hope and humor.

On Thursday, Aug. 3, at the Sharon Town Hall, sponsored by the Hotchkiss Library, Schaub, whose most recent book is “Year of No Garbage,” will hold a talk on the eve of the Library’s multi-author book signing at the same venue.

Schaub also will be on hand signing books at the event on Friday, Aug. 4 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Having investigated the ubiquitousness of sugar in the American diet and the many ins and outs of decluttering, Schaub turned her mega-experimental mind to a topic most of us would rather not acknowledge, let alone delve into: garbage, and especially our addiction to a throwaway lifestyle that is burying us in plastics, from the inside out.

“Year of No Garbage” is a must-read for everyone who cares about the environment, air quality, our bodily integrity and what we are leaving behind—for our own future generations and for the legions of people in high-poverty countries whose lives are led surrounded by our toxic garbage, conveniently shipped “away” even when it is supposedly being recycled at home.

The fact that trash is our nation’s number one export leads a list of “Ten Statistics to be Horrified By,” which opens the book. “The average American singlehandedly produces enough trash in their lifetime to build a Statue of Liberty: over one hundred tons of garbage” is another stunner.  The book’s well-researched content, with 14 pages of endnotes and a thorough index, is also extremely readable and often laugh-aloud funny.

It’s also touching, as it portrays in detail the changes Schaub put her family through, since they were all implicated in her goal of producing no trash for the entire year of 2020. Her husband and two daughters, labeled “extremely good sports,” manifested the vicissitudes of support and exasperation for the grand experiment they were part of, as it got established in the first three months of the pandemic year.

With chapter headings like “This Sucks and Everyone Hates Me,” “Secrets and Fraud: When ‘Green’ Plastic Goes Horribly Wrong,” ”Tooth Tablets and Period Panties: We Try All the Weird Zero Waste Products,” and finally “Is Life Without Plastic Even Possible,” the conversational tone, extreme, fearless attention to specifics, and underlying hope and love for the future make it a much-needed handbook for those who aspire to be better stewards of our precious biosphere.

Latest News

A scenic 32-mile loop through Litchfield County

Whenever I need to get a quick but scenic bicycle ride but don’t have time to organize a group ride that involves driving to a meeting point, I just turn right out of my driveway. That begins a 32-mile loop through some of the prettiest scenery in northern Litchfield County.

I ride south on Undermountain Road (Route 41 South) into Salisbury and turn right on Main Street (Route 44 West). If I’m meeting friends, we gather at the parking area on the west side of Salisbury Town Hall where parking is never a problem.

Keep ReadingShow less
Biking Ancramdale to Copake

This is a lovely ride that loops from Ancramdale north to Copake and back. At just over 23 miles and about 1,300 feet of elevation gain, it’s a perfect route for intermediate recreational riders and takes about two hours to complete.It’s entirely on quiet roads with little traffic, winding through rolling hills, open countryside, picturesque farms and several lakes.

Along the way, you’ll pass a couple of farmstands that are worth a quick visit. There is only one hill that might be described as steep, but it is quite short — probably less than a quarter-mile.

Keep ReadingShow less
North East town records brought into the digital age

Chris Virtuoso reorganized parcel records in the North East Town Hall basement by parcel number during the process of scanning and digitizing the documents.

Photo by Grace DeMarco

MILLERTON — Within the walls of the two-story Victorian housing the North East Town Hall lies a room-full of town records dating back to the late 19th century. Stored in labeled cardboard boxes and protected by dehumidifiers, the records are in the process of being dated, organized, and scanned into categorized online programs.

As the Town Hall works to relocate to 5603 Route 22 at the former Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness, the consolidation and digitalization of records, as well as the disposal of those unneeded, is a time-sensitive project. Marcy Wheatley, the Deputy Town Clerk, emphasized their current heavy focus on organizing and scanning. “Now, when we move, we can get rid of a lot,” Wheatley stated.

Keep ReadingShow less
Fun, food and facts bring crowds to downtown Millerton

Nora Garcia, 6, of Millerton, bottom right, gets a face painting treatment from Maddy Rowe, a Webutuck High School senior. Nora’s sister, Juliana, 8, top right, is decorated by Giana Kall, a Webutuck senior. The program was sponsored by the Webutuck PTA.

Photo by John Coston

Correction: the Millerton News Street Fair was a collaborative effort between the Millerton News, the Millerton Business Alliance and the North East Community Center.

MILLERTON — Locals and visitors packed into downtown Millerton Saturday, June 28, for the first ever Millerton Street Fair hosted by the Millerton News, the Millerton Business Alliance and the North East Community Center. Representatives from local nonprofits, businesses along Main Street, Bee Bee the Clown and face painters from Webutuck High School drew in crowds all afternoon.

Keep ReadingShow less