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One Man’s Trash, One Globe’s Big Problem

If you think your trash doesn’t affect the environment, think again

By Pam JannesPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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It’s no secret that the Earth goes through a lot in it’s endless cycles around the solar system. And oftentimes humans can be more harmful than helpful to our planet despite all the pressure it already faces. From increasing natural disasters to drastic climate changes, it’s clear that the Earth is rapidly changing - and not for the better.

Individuals often feel that their simple day-to-day actions don’t have any profound impacts on the environment as a whole. But when that’s a mentality shared by a large subset of the populations, those small individual actions quickly add up. Even the smallest actions and behaviors can largely contribute to the planet’s overall wellbeing.

Take for example the simple decision of how to dispose of your garbage. You can either dump everything in one bin that will ultimately end up in a landfill or sort out your garbage, recyclables, and maybe even compostables. You may not think you produce enough trash on your own to make a difference. In reality, the average human produces roughly 102 tons of garbage in his or her lifetime.

This trash literally builds up in landfills over time which can have severe consequences for the Earth and the people living on it. Landfills release methane gases which contribute to the heating up of the globe. Garbage can also be harmful to wildlife, especially when misplaced. Take it a step further and you’ll find that these landfills also impact humans by worsening health conditions such as asthma, birth defects, cancer, and cardiovascular disease, to name a few.

Recycling on the other hand conserves energy, reduces pollution, and conserves precious resources that are needed elsewhere. Composting has its own subset of benefits including enriching soil and encouraging the production of beneficial bacteria.

While it may be inconvenient to invest in a system that helps you separate your waste and research before you simply toss waste away, it’s certainly worth the hassle. Once you get into the habit of it, it becomes second nature that’s no longer an annoyance. So why don’t more people recycle?

The good news is that 73% of people say they recycle ‘most or all’ of their recyclable trash items. However, as landfills are rapidly reaching capacity, there’s definitely still work to be done.

There are also ways we can attempt to reduce our waste. It’s impractical to suggest a zero-waste lifestyle. While this is something that many people strive for, it requires a big commitment and significant lifestyle changes. That means not buying products with disposable packaging, not ordering takeout unless you somehow provide the containers, and eating everything you purchase - scraps and all.

It’s nearly impossible to ask someone to produce no trash whatsoever. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take baby steps to lower the amount of garbage we routinely produce.

Much like sorting out trash, small swaps can make a big difference. That includes things like switching to paperless billing, using reusable water bottles and coffee mugs, and ditching disposable and single-use products (like silverware, razors, etc.).

These tiny changes are small enough to the point where you probably won’t even notice them, especially after they become part of your routine. But if we all took steps like these, we could largely reduce the negative impact the human population currently has on the globe.

One survey found that 70% of people are likely or very likely to make changes to their current lifestyle to make it more eco-friendly. This is an incredibly promising statistic, it’s just a matter of putting that willingness into action. As a community, we should continue to offer each other suggestions of how we can be more environmentally responsible, and eventually these small adjustments will make big impacts.

Sustainability
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