Outline the Ways in Which Rubbish Can Be Said to Have Value in a Consumer Society Essay

Shopping is an important part of the late consumer life style. It is enjoyed as a affectionate activity and is about identity and look as much as the usefulness of the purchase. quite a little define themselves non that by their jobs, but as well as by their possessions and the things they own.Rubbish is only considered assail because pot dis measure it. People want it to be invisible at one time the chalk goes out for collection, it prat be forgotten. However, consumer beau monde does abide by folderal as respect is individualal and is never fixed. It jackpot change oer time and become re- jimmyd again whether sparingally or aesthetically or both.This essay will look at the ways in which applesauce is take to bed in a consumer society by outlining inlet and the growth in lash out, Baumans theory of the seduced and the repressed Environmental & Economic take to be and Thompsons Rubbish Theory.Rubbish per home has increase over the years. betwixt 1957- 2006 , household methamphetamine hydrochloride had risen by 28%. (Brown, 2009, p.107) This could be attributed to a rise in affluence and the availability of credit, which enables to a greater extent(prenominal) people to act in consumer society. Disposable income increases the likelihood of people spending on lavishness goods rather than just the essentials. Other possible factors are the increase in mass consumption during that period shops offer lower prices and to a greater extent choice. People excessively eat more use more services and demoralize more clothes and white goods.9% of total expenditure was exhausted on services in 1957, compared to 25% in 2006 (which includes personal goods household and leisure services) (Brown, 2009, p.110) and info collected by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) (Hetherington, 2009, p.23) shows that the total household spends more on recreation and culture (luxuries) than non-alcohol and food (essentials).Although the data cannot take every circumstance into account, it does suggest that as people became more affluent over the years, the amount of money spent on luxuries increased and with affluence and choice people tend to dispose of distributor points more readily then they would have 50 years ago.Consumers can feel pressured to upkeep up with the latest trends. The constant changes in fashion and technology advertize people to upgrade their goods before the lifespan of the existing item has expired. It gives them a sense of worth in society, as it helps them to fit into a certain lifestyle.The data supports Baumans theory (Hetherington, 2009, p.26) that existence a part of consumer society helps people to establish identity and self expression. It similarly reflects a lifestyle that others might aspire to. He calls these people the seduced, as they have the mover and the desire to consume effectively and are therefore valued in society. In contrast, the repressed, who may not be able to consume as ef fectively due to a lack of income, age or impediment for example can feel excluded from the consumer society. However, these categories are interchangeable and people can move between the two categories.The result of consumption is waste, and increased consumption equals an increase in rubbish. It could be argued that the seduced, being the more active consumers, are more likely to create the most rubbish, due to their greater consumer habits. careless(predicate) of this, eventually all of the items, food and appliances that we consume end up as rubbish and it needs to be dealt with.Despite rubbish largely being viewed as negative, some people view it positively. There are people whose business is rubbish and therefore, it is of value to them economically, such as, restoration and re-sale or a large company returning from its disposal. Rubbish collecting can also be a resourceful hobby. A discarded item from a abscond or the dump can be salvaged or restored and made into an item of value again, whether its use value, aesthetic value or both.Environmentalists also value rubbish by pursuing a greener lifestyle. Recently, the Government has commit more emphasis on environmental issues and it has made people more aware of the impact they are having on the planet. Although reducing consumption would be the obvious answer in the meantime, reuse & recycling schemes and fortnightly rubbish collections have encouraged people to consider the value of rubbish and the environment.The UK is clam up a poor performer when compared with other European countries and although there is salve a long way to go, recycling has increased. Information provided by Defra, 2007 (Brown, 2009, p.117) shows that the parting of total rubbish recycled has steadily increased. In 1983/4 the rate of rubbish recycled was 1% compared to 31% in 2006/7. Although the total amount of rubbish also increased during earlier years, as of 2003/4, the amount of rubbish began to decrease as the rate of recycling increased.Due to the increase in environmental awareness, rubbish has become valued by people who want to contribute to a greener, more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Being environmentally friendly has also become about identity and image, and it has become a positive social attribute.However, it is not just environmental issues that give rubbish value. The downturn in the economy has prompted people to re-use and re-sell their unwanted items instead of throwing them away. Mobile phones can be recycled for money and various unwanted items can be sold on with the aid of local newspapers and internet auction sites. While one person is disposing of their rubbish for profit, someone else is gaining something that they value.In Thompsons Rubbish Theory (Brown, 2009, p.122) he explains how some items considered as rubbish can evolve and gain value again. He suggests that some items can move from the transient category (items produced for use) via rubbish (items that beco me of little or zero value) into the durable category (where value increases over time) and be valued again. When an object moves from transient to durable its value first drops before it begins to rise again.Thompsons example of this would be Stevengraphs (Brown, 2009, p.124). doubting Thomas Stevens made a profitable business by selling his silkworks in the 1800s, but by the mid twentieth century, they had become almost valueless. all over time the items became collectors pieces and their value began to rise. This example shows that value is not fixed an item can lose or gain value over time.Thompson suggests that one of the reasons for this rise and fall is because of supply and demand (Brown, 2009, p.126). From a collectors perspective, buying a Stevengraph when the supply was plentiful compared to the demand, meant that it could be purchased relatively cheaply. As the supply diminished over the years, the remaining pieces became rare and therefore more blue-chip to the collec tors. When the demand outweighs the supply, it results in an increase in price and value.To conclude, it can be said that rubbish has value in a consumer society. Although generally viewed negatively, it does have value to a number of different people. Rubbish is valuable to people who work in the waste industry and gain profit or wages from it. Environmentalists value rubbish as it helps them to contribute to an environmentally friendly lifestyle by reusing and recycling. And people suffering in the economic downturn have found a new way to value rubbish, by selling it on and buying items second hand in order to save money, which consequently, saves on waste. Finally, Thompson suggests that rubbish can be re-valued as items move from the transient category via rubbish, into the durable category where its value rises again.