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 I'm going to let you in on the secret of "green." It's simple, and you can start immediately, but you might not believe it. There is no such thing as trash. Trash is a concept, a word we use to describe the byproducts of consumerism. It's our dainty way of saying, "I don't know what to call this plastic container/banana peel/radioactive teddy bear that I can't use anymore, so I'm going to call it TRASH." Trash, by definition, needs to be thrown away.
The word justifies wasteful behavior.
If it isn't trash, what is it? Well, it's mostly materials. It's paper, wood, glass, food matter, yard trimmings, and electronics,. What do all these things have in common? They're all resources! Over half of all our "trash" is organic. Paper, food waste, and yard waste is, as anyone who keeps a composter knows, the perfect recipe for rich, nutrient-filled soil. (See our compost primer if you don't!) If we made composting across the entire country mandatory, we could immediately cut our waste by half. Millions of tons of "trash" could be invested back into our environment, instead of left to rot.
We've done pretty well with recycling our plastics and glass, but recycling requires energy. The EPA's slogan is an easy to remember strategy for eliminating trash: reduce, reuse, recycle. Of the three, the first two are the most efficient. The first is self explanitory: use less. But what's the middle word - reuse?. We all wear hand-me-downs, but the re-use of material can save us the process of recycling. Things consumers buy are designed to be thrown away, but there an empty plastic water bottle is perfectly useful the way it is. (See our trash island!)
Everyone can implement Zero Waste strategies, whether you're a homeowner, a student, or a restaurant manager. We can stop waste by reducing, reusing, and recycling. Reduce your own trash by half: start a compost bin today! Last update: July 27, 2010
02:16 pm
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