In a nation that places a high value on convenience, this is all possible or will soon be possible for consumers willing to pay a little more for products designed for one-time use. And the list is growing.

"There is a definite trend toward disposable," says Tom Vierhile, executive editor of Productscan Online, a database on new products. "People want things ready to go, ready to eat, ready to use, ready to apply. That's the society we live in and it lends itself to disposable products."

More Disposables to Choose From

Americans have long favored products that can be tossed after one use. In the 1960s, grateful parents began snapping up disposable diapers and Bic introduced the completely disposable razor that many quickly adopted over reusable metal ones.

Vierhile says today that trend appears to be accelerating. From cleaning wipes to facial cloths and storage containers, he says the number of disposable grocery products has more than doubled since 1995.

Last year alone, manufacturers introduced 110 kinds of disposable wipes up from 28 new wipes products in 1998, according to Product Alert, a publication on packaged goods. The new use-and-toss items include wipes for floor brooms and mops, wipes to clean the toilet, scrub greasy pans and even bathe the baby.

In the ever-innovating realm of high-tech, companies have turned to disposables as a way of dealing with frequent technology upgrades. A new breed of "talk and toss" mobile phones has entered the market, and disposable videos and DVDs are becoming available. To some extent, even computers have become disposable.

According to the National Safety Council, computers in 1994 lasted an average of four to six years. By 2004, estimates predict the average life of a computer will be just two years.

Trash Waiting to Happen

The trend has conservationists worried.

"It takes something like 25 pounds of garbage to make a pound of product," says Debra Lynn Dadd, founder and sustainability adviser for WorldWise, an organization that encourages environmentally responsible consumerism. "So when you use these products, you're not only throwing out the wipe or the towel, there's also the material that was disposed when the product was made. That's waste we never even see."

Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste, points out that the move toward more disposable products is accelerating even when we haven't yet figured out how to throw out old garbage.

Computers and televisions are among the most troublesome trash items since the cathode ray tubes used in their screens and the wire plates inside computers contribute about 4 to 8 pounds of lead per unit. Once in a landfill, the lead can leak into drinking water and cause health problems.

It's a problem that environmentalists say is literally waiting to get worse.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 75 percent of obsolete computer equipment is sitting in closets, basements and attics since most don't know how to properly dispose of them. A recent report estimated that there are 6 million computer and TV monitors collecting dust in California homes, alone.

Recently the state of California considered a bill that would have built a recycling fee into the cost of every computer purchased in the state. Governor Gray Davis vetoed the bill in October, saying a better solution is needed.

"We were opposed to it because a recycling fee cannot be fairly implemented in one state," said Jason Linnell, spokesman for the Electronic Industries Alliance. "They can't tax the Internet so any computers bought online couldn't be taxed. It would be unfair."

Instead, the Electronic Industries Alliance, along with other representatives from electronics manufacturers, government agencies and environmental groups, are working to devise a nationwide computer recycling plan under a program known as NEPSI. If a bill like the one proposed by Rep. Michael Thompson, D-Calif., last session passes, all computers bought in the United States would include a recycling fee.

Greener Electronics

Until then, Murray argues it's up to computer manufacturers to adopt greener policies.

"The business model of the high-tech industry depends on us to continue to buy, consume and throw away," he says. "That's the problem, they're not designing these things to last, they're designing them to use and throw out."

Some companies, however, have at least begun designing products with an eye toward recycling.

The Japanese PC maker NEC recently introduced a "green" computer the Powermate Eco model. The computer's motherboard is made with a lead-free solder and the frame is made from 100 percent recyclable plastic.

Sony Electronics has begun making computers with lead-free solder. But experts say the alternative solders are not yet as dependable as lead and this may delay widespread introduction of green computers for another four to five years.

Disposable DVDs

Although the idea of disposable DVDs is not exactly environmentally friendly, Nabil Lawandy, chief executive of Spectra disc in Providence, R.I., claims his company is doing everything possible to make the single-use DVDs green.

"It's ideal for consumers. You can open and watch the movie any time you want and it doesn't take a special trip to Blockbuster's," Lawandy says. "Once you use the disc, you put it in the recycle bin."

The discs are designed with two coatings, explains Lawandy. One coating prevents tampering while the other is designed to turn black and black out the movie three days after the disc is removed from its package. He says if consumers send back the discs, his company can replace the coating and use the discs again. He hopes a rebate system might encourage customers to do so, but the DVDs aren't yet available to purchase.

New York-based Flexplay has designed disposable DVDs that can't be reused, only recycled. So far, the DVDs have only been used in promotional mailings, not widespread movie releases.

A Westlake, Calif., company, Now Showing, introduced what they call "Returnless Video" last year. The tapes are played like any other videocassette, but after the second viewing, they are automatically erased and can then be reused as blank cassettes.

Regardless of the efforts of companies to create reusable or recyclable products, Dadd argues that customers ultimately decide how much they will reuse and throw out.

"It's about personal choice and commitment," she says. "But sometimes when retailers push disposables, it's difficult to stand by personal commitment."