Environmentally Friendly Geekdom

I’ve been into geeky stuff a long time — at least since my dad took me to see The Wrath of Kahn in 1982. Likewise, I’ve always enjoyed nature. I grew up playing in the woods. When I was about ten I started insisting that my family recycle our used soda cans to help reduce pollution, and I never purposely squished an insect.

So, geekery and nature — these two spheres of interest sometimes intersected nicely, like when we could pretend our tree house was part of the Ewok village. (As an adult, the overlap takes a darker bent, as in, let’s learn how to forage for edible plants for when the zombie apocalypse happens.)

Recently I started down a new career path in environmental education. Finally, I get to share with kids — and some adults — why playing in the woods is cool and why nature deserves protecting. But I’ve struggled to come to terms with one place where my two lifelong passions collide disastrously: collectibles.

As geeks, we buy lots and lots of stuff: action figures, models, replica props, T-shirts, gadgets, and accessories. A lot of it doesn’t actually do anything except sit there soaking up our admiration. Hell, some of it we don’t even take out of the package. Americans in general are big time consumers, so I’m not pinning all the blame on us. But in geekdom, collecting emblems of our passion is part of the deal. We must admit that we are responsible for a great deal of clutter, much of it made of plastic, in a practice that is anything but environmentally friendly.

Guys, we’re trashing the planet. And as much as I like to fantasize about living in the Firefly ‘verse, we’re not there yet. You can’t take the sky from me, but at present, you can’t take the land, water, air, or plants either. We need them to live.

According to the plastics manufacturing industry, as reported by the Pacific Institute, it takes around 3.4 megajoules of energy to manufacture a one-liter disposable plastic water bottle. Let’s say that a *Funko Pop figure contains roughly the same amount of plastic as that bottle. That’s around one kilowatt hour of energy for each of the 3 million figures sold each year. And all that plastic is made from fossil fuels. Then there’s the packaging and the gas required to ship the figure to you or the store. Finally, there’s the consideration for where it goes when you’re done with it. “Wait!”, you cry, “I’ll never part with my collectibles.” Someday you’re going to move or downsize and barring that, let’s face it, you ain’t going to live forever. All of your stuff won’t cease to exist when you go to that big convention hall in the sky.

So what can we do differently? Well, buy less stuff. That’s pretty simplistic and, like a vague New Year’s resolution, not easy to stick with for more than a week. So here are some suggestions for how to be a more environmentally friendly geek. (Additional ideas welcome.)

1. Shop local. This goes for anything you buy, because when you shop locally you do you small part to reduce the carbon emissions generated by shipping goods all over the world. Hit local flea markets or consignment shops for vintage treasures. If it’s an option, walk or bike to your local comic book store. They’ll be happy to see you.
2. Save up for the really good stuff. If I had the money for all the cheap, plastic light sabers I’ve bought over the years, I could use it to buy one of those awesome, authentic ones. It would be hanging prominently on my living room wall instead of collecting dust in the basement somewhere. Instead of impulsively buying every vaguely cool thing we see, let’s buy less, more awesome stuff.
3. Support independent artists. This is an exception when following suggestion #1 above. When you back a small company’s Kickstarter or you buy a handmade costume on Etsy, you’re doing good. Not only are you supporting someone’s dream, you’re encouraging creativity and helping fill the world with art. IMO, the positives outweigh the negatives. This tenet also circles back to buying the good stuff. Do you need every mass-produced Star Wars T-shirt that Target sells? Or would you rather have a really creative, limited run T-shirt by an artist who shares your passion?
4. Focus on one fandom (okay, maybe two). Quit trying to keep up with the Lannisters. Rather than buying every shiny thing celebrating every franchise, home in on your favorite. You may end up buying less stuff overall, and you’ll end up with items that you know will still hold meaning for you years or decades down the road. Maybe you’ll even pass them along to your kids. At any rate, you’ll make more thoughtful choices.
5. Recycle what you can. According to the Center for Sustainability and Commerce at Duke University, Americans dump approximately 121 million tons of waste into landfills each year. If it’s plastic, it’s not going away any time soon. Wall-E is going to be playing with your 12-inch, fully articulated Captain America one day. If anything is recyclable, dispose of it accordingly. Paper and cardboard are easy. Some communities now offer curbside textile recycling. If yours doesn’t, look for charities such as Vietnam Veterans of America, who will pick up old clothing and other fabrics (read: costumes) and recycle them if they’re too trashed to resell. Most metal can be recycled; just Google facilities in your area. Electronic toys may also contain rare earth metals. Awareness and availability of recycling these materials is increasing. Meanwhile, there is a growing interest in recycling old toys, even those made of a variety of different plastics. This article from Treehugger describes such a program by Tom’s of Maine.

As I head to two major cons this year, I’ll take my own advice, but these choices arise practically every day. It’s an ongoing commitment just like remembering the reusable grocery bags, composting, and recycling. I hope some of you out there will get on board too, at least until we build a decent spaceship or perfect the flux capacitor.

*For the record, I’m not anti-Funko in any way. They’re a wildly successful company whose Pop figures are awesome. Mine are pictured above. I’m trying to keep the collection to a minimum, however.