In this week’s roundup of blog-reader comments, you had a bit to say about trash and waste…when you weren’t laughing and joke-cracking, that is.

Oh So Trashy
Indeed, ours and past civilizations have lived trashy existences. Dating back further than the New Testament, our experience with trash and waste has been chronicled. It’s kinda gross. Our readers agree.

Says Jaime Rolong:

The truth is that earth is like a big Petri dish; like bacteria grow in a Petri dish until they convert all their resources into waste, we humans will eventually do the same on Earth. All we can do is slow down the process…

And while our processes have gotten better (i.e., We no longer throw out trash from the windows of our homes and apartments to the street below. At least, most of us don’t.), we do continue to deal with an imperfect system of disposal. Landfills take up space and often are hazardous to surrounding areas. Another option comes via reader Craig Apolinario, who points out, “The biggest incinerator warms the Earth every day. We have the resources to send all hazardous waste right to the sun instead of burying ourselves in waste every day…”

On top of which, waste from electronic devices contains hazardous ingredients classified by EPA as “permanent biological toxins.” It’s a real problem. Americans discard about 2 million tons of used electronics each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). That figure doesn’t include the 128 million cell phones we toss every 12 months.

According to Biomed Dave:

You have to start somewhere, and the huge pile of e-waste is a good start. There will be a cottage industry developing out of this that will break this stuff down safely and reuse the “reusable”. The hazardous components will be disposed of in due time as we learn more how to do it. In the meantime…I’ll buy my $92.00 5-gallon buckets to ship my pre-paid alkaline dead batteries to Arizona for safe keeping.

But, although “recycling this stuff makes sense,” notes reader Pat, “we need to do it sensibly.” Washington recently became the first state to require manufacturers to fully finance and organize the collection, transportation and recycling of their electronic products at no charge to consumers. In response to a stated claim in our article Efficient E-Waste Effacement Assessment — “…a hodgepodge of state laws would be far less effective than a single federal law” — Pat says that making manufacturers pay will simply send them to another state. “This is not something that the federal government should be involved — leave it to the states.”

Of Waste…and a Good BM
In addition to the conventional “Seven Wastes” developed by Toyota’s Taiichi Ohno, plus an additional source of muda, our readers added some of their own.

Nick Sevastian: Uncontrolled layers of management; buzzword administrators; bureaucracy; and paper pushers who “function to collect measurables that indicate what a waste they are.”

Craig Lami notes that at least five of our article’s noted wastes “are reduced or eliminated by properly deciding on and using standardized work. Uneducated, inexperienced people, no matter how cheap they work, cannot make up for the knowledge of skilled, experienced workers.”

B. Shyam Sundar’s added wastes, both of which “play a major role in the elimination of hidden waste: Mura and Muri.

Mura talks about Irregularity.
Muri talks about Difficulty.

Loyal reader/commenter Nick Sevastian came back to respond to the Mura/Muri-wastes comment. Nick seems concerned with B. Shyam Sundar’s BM, noting “irregularity” and “difficulty” as possibly being alleviated if some fiber were added to Sundar’s diet. Thank you, Nick.

Meanwhile, Kathleen Fasanella over at the Fashion-Incubator blog, one of her posts having been mentioned in our article, feels neglected. Show her some love, people.

‘Laughter In the Workplace Keeps Us Sane.’
Finally, humor and laughter in the workplace is a good thing.

The cryptically named “M” notes how “it’s definitely getting harder to find humor without cynicism” in the office. “Humor is essential in the workplace — no one is going to keep lining up to work with someone who takes themselves too seriously.” In particular, Marti Houdesheldt believes that “humor in the workplace is critical in a fast-paced field.”

Says Lawrence Dagna:

The flow of “creative juices” and the ability to see things clearly and “think outside the box” for solutions to spontaneous opportunities are far more productive within an environment that is light, friendly and contains some appropriate forms of levity. If one can attract more flies with sugar than vinegar, then the same can be said for a proper atmosphere in which to propogate creativity and effective teamwork.

Jefferson has a dimmer perception on the topic, saying that laughter is simply lacking in higher-up positions—or is not shared by said positions with the people on the floor:

[…] possibly because they fear being laughed at or with. They seem to want to establish an authoritarian regime, and it eliminates much of the fun of going to work. They are stingy with praise, as well, fearing people will expect something more. It’s become a bottom-line business and not much fun. Too much push and not enough pull. Not much respect for the workers.

Alex Wright and Norm Hall had similar ideas regarding humor/laughter and the workplace: really, if you can’t have fun with it, don’t do it…get out as soon as you can.

Reader E. Sanchez adheres to a Roald Dahl quote: “A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men.”

If for no other reason, consider Armando Nugnes’ workplace observance: “The laughter helps us remain sane.”