Poland - developed country with wasteful attitudes

[Bonobo]

Poland has been declared a developed country this year.
www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2018-10-02/poland-reclassified-as-a-developed-economy-by-the-ftse
www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/09/24/poland-becomes-first-country-former-soviet-bloc-ranked-developed/
financialobserver.eu/daily/poland-is-becoming-one-of-the-most-developed-economies/


But I am not going to flood the thread with statistics and economic data.

I am going to complain about it. Yes, it is a pity. What a paradox!

I see how resources and wealth are wasted instead of being saved because in a developed country people stop caring about it. They simply don`t have to so why should they?

I always feel sad and guilty whenever sth useful is thrown away or squandered - e.g., I myself try to use items till they work and I try to avoid wasting food. I also hate losing time, both at home and work. That is why I have been keeping tens of things which might be called obsolete but why should I get rid of them if they still function OK and serve my needs, e.g., a 10 year old PC computer on which I am typing these words now? That is just one example, I could go on with more.

But enough about me, I intend to relate the cases of wasteful acts around me.


tbc

[jeanne]

Dec 19, 2018 23:23:25 GMT 1 Bonobo said:

Poland has been declared a developed country this year.
www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2018-10-02/poland-reclassified-as-a-developed-economy-by-the-ftse
www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/09/24/poland-becomes-first-country-former-soviet-bloc-ranked-developed/
financialobserver.eu/daily/poland-is-becoming-one-of-the-most-developed-economies/


But I am not going to flood the thread with statistics and economic data.

I am going to complain about it. Yes, it is a pity. What a paradox!

I see how resources and wealth are wasted instead of being saved because in a developed country people stop caring about it. They simply don`t have to so why should they?

I always feel sad and guilty whenever sth useful is thrown away or squandered - e.g., I myself try to use items till they work and I try to avoid wasting food. I also hate losing time, both at home and work. That is why I have been keeping tens of things which might be called obsolete but why should I get rid of them if they still function OK and serve my needs, e.g., a 10 year old PC computer on which I am typing these words now? That is just one example, I could go on with more.

But enough about me, I intend to relate the cases of wasteful acts around me.


tbc

Good for you! That is my philosophy exactly! I look forward to your continuing this thread!

[Bonobo]

Dec 20, 2018 0:52:03 GMT 1 jeanne said:

Good for you! That is my philosophy exactly! I look forward to your continuing this thread!

First some statistics though. www.thenews.pl/1/11/Artykul/389838,Poles-waste-food-and-money-experts

Poles waste food and money: experts
31.10.2018 08:30
The average Polish family of four wastes up to PLN 2,500 (EUR 577, USD 655) worth of food annually, according to the Federation of Polish Food Banks. Households account for roughly 50 percent of all food wasted in Poland, the federation has said.
A survey carried out by the organisation has shown that the most often cited reasons for wasting food are excessive shopping, products not meeting quality standards, leftovers, inadequate storage and food passing its expiry date. Foodstuffs most often discarded include fruit and vegetables, bread, ready-made meals and dairy products, the federation said. Prof. Zbigniew Karaczun, from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, said that food waste generates 16.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, coupled with extensive water consumption. Around 9 million tonnes of food is wasted in Poland every year. Poland’s environment ministry earlier this year announced a new project to reduce the amount of food that is thrown away.



Sometimes it happens that we need to get rid of some old food but definitely it is not the amount suggested in the article. Besides, most of it isn`t really wasted because I can give it to some of our pets, e,g, stale bread and rolls are gladly munched by mice and rabbit, smelly sausage and meat by cats etc. Only the snake requires fresh food.

I can eat bananas which ripened completely black - when people show surprise, I say they come straight from Africa. But they are the sweetest, like a few other fruit.

I find it depressing how food is wasted in supermarkets - mostly fish which lasts the shortest. It`s not the high prices which make products remain unbought, just customers` preferences are so unpredictable.

It`s amazing but I still remember an interview with a garbage collector from 1980s who talked about his work but finally implied that Poland was too rich a country because people used to throw away so much bread. He felt somehow indignant about the fact.

[Bonobo]

Dec 20, 2018 0:52:03 GMT 1 jeanne said:

Good for you! That is my philosophy exactly! I look forward to your continuing this thread!

Two first hand examples.

Local
Damaged swivel chairs aren`t repaired by our school caretaker as they used to in the past. I once visited our caretaker in his underground workshop and saw a pile of damaged swivel chairs, ready for transport to a junk yard. He told me it is cheaper to buy a new one, hiring a professional repair guy would cost too much. . When I pointed to a slightly damaged one and said I could fix it within 5 minutes, he replied he doesn`t have legal papers for reparing such things so if a repaired chair collapses and somebody gets hurt, who will be held responsible?


National
Before the last autumn`s ballot the government had decided to seperate province parliaments elections from big city districts elections. They were held within a few weeks. What a waste of money!

[Bonobo]

In 2007 a state railway company bought 6 modern trains but all of a sudden changed its mind and never used them later on. They still rot in the fresh air. OMG!

lovekrakow.pl/aktualnosci/kilkuletnie-pociagi-niszczeja-na-bocznicy-w-biezanowie-zdjecia_14756.html

[jeanne]

Apr 14, 2019 14:08:08 GMT 1 Bonobo said:

In 2007 a state railway company bought 6 modern trains but all of a sudden changed its mind and never used them later on. They still rot in the fresh air. OMG!

Now THAT is really crazy wasteful!!