Growing humanity is suffocating in the garbage it produces. Whole plastic continents are already floating in the oceans. Developed and developing countries are spending huge amounts of money on waste disposal, and still it is not enough. Even the nearest space is littered. Maybe it's time to think about how to solve this problem not at the state level, but for everyone personally?
The scale
Good or bad, but we live in a consumer society, and in the coming years and decades, the situation is unlikely to change. This means that humanity will continue to produce a variety of garbage on a huge scale and puzzle over what to do with it. The magnitude of the problem, when you think about it seriously, is truly amazing. Today, all the inhabitants of our planet produce 1.3 billion tons of household waste per year. The figure is unimaginable, and it will become even larger: experts predict an increase of one billion tons by 2025. In order to somehow bury, recycle, burn and dispose of these mountain ridges of garbage, humanity spends 205 billion dollars a year (comparable to the annual budget of Russia).
Those who produce and consume the most - the United States and China - litter the most. Americans account for 17.7% of all the earth's garbage generated in a year. The Chinese are not far behind with their 14.7%. Russia is in the "honorable" seventh place on this list (2.8%, about 0.5 tons of garbage per year for each Russian). It would seem that there is not much, with our territories (yeah, let's fill up everything around with garbage, there is enough space!). And in general, let the state have a headache about this. It is enough that we pay taxes, and the "garbage" component is included in utility bills. But is it enough?
Consciousness and responsibility
Let's get a little philosophical. What do we ourselves want to be in our own eyes and in the eyes of others? Certainly, few people would agree to get the impression of an ill-mannered person who does not care about the others and who litters wherever he gets. Nevertheless, it is enough to visit the nearest forest belt or on a relatively wild beach to make sure that we are still very far from good manners and responsibility for our actions. There are few who, after a picnic in the forest, will not leave behind a single plastic or glass bottle, empty tin can, plastic packaging, etc. Even, one might say, negligible. Most, to our great regret, are not ready to treat the issue of cleanliness around themselves responsibly, professing the old as the world selfish principles: "The main thing is that I feel good","I owe nothing to anyone" and "After us, even a flood." Here it is, this flood, and is approaching. Garbage. But maybe it's still worth at least trying to understand that the garbage problem depends on each of us? And once you understand, try to change your behavior? It's not at all as difficult as it seems. It can also be interesting and enjoyable.
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Zero Waste Movement
It is logical that the movement Zero Waste ("Zero waste") originated in the country that produces this same waste the most - the United States. It happened in 2006, when a resident of San Francisco, an American of French descent named Bea Johnson, drew attention to how irrational she, her husband and their two children are living. Bea grew up in the south of France in a poor family, where things were treated very differently than in the United States - with care. And the garbage, she said, was much, much less. Bea talked to her husband and her children, and they agreed to go on an experiment: to change their lives so as to produce as little garbage as possible. The experiment continues to this day and, in fact, has long become not an experiment, but a way of life. New and beautiful, as Bea Johnson herself claims. Now she and her family have many followers all over the world,and Bea herself is a frequent lecturer and has even written a best-selling book, Home Without Waste.
A different way of life, different from the one adopted in the consumer society, is what Bea Johnson essentially preaches. The sharp decrease in the amount of garbage that occurs at the same time (Bea herself often shows at her lectures a small glass jar with garbage - this is all the garbage that her family produces in a year) is only a consequence. Yes, this new way of life takes some effort, but in the end it pays off handsomely. In every sense of the word. What does it consist in?
The rules are complex and simple
Those who were born in the early 80s of the last century and earlier probably remember the times when groceries in the store were wrapped in paper, and an indispensable thing in the family was a string bag - a woven rope mesh bag that easily fit in a pocket. And no disposable plastic bags (they existed, of course, but were very rare). In general, there were radically fewer disposables than now. Consequently, things were less likely to be thrown into landfills. Do you think many of us still use cloth handkerchiefs instead of disposable paper handkerchiefs (by the way, each pack of such handkerchiefs is packed in a plastic wrap)? That's just it. Hence all our trash troubles. But here also lies the answer, how to get rid of them. Or at least to reduce their negative impact on nature. So the first rule from Bea Johnson says:“Stop using disposables. Or at least keep their use to a minimum. This applies to a great variety of things that we almost do not even notice - they have so tightly entered our life. Disposable tableware, cocktail tubes, samplers, flyers, plastic bags and all kinds of plastic packaging … You can list for a long time, but the essence is the same: all this turns into trash immediately after use. Yes, throwing away disposable dishes is easier than cleaning glass or ceramic, as well as metal forks, spoons and knives. And the plastic bag costs a dime. And beautiful plastic packaging is pleasant to look at, and it seems convenient and necessary (in fact, not at all - just remember the times when there were no such packaging. It's just that we pay more for a product packed in plastic, which is beneficial to corporations,this product by the manufacturer). But let's not forget that all this forms mountains and mountains of garbage, which is almost impossible to recycle and from which we will soon begin to suffocate. Why, we are already suffocating.
Further. Limit the list of things you need. The challenge: to leave only those that are really needed. The fewer things, the less garbage. And of course, preference should be given to those things that last a long time and which, if something happens, can be repaired and used further.
There are a few more rules. For example, if it is possible, do not throw away an unnecessary thing, but hand it over for recycling (in the event that it is impossible to sell or simply give to those who need it). Search and find an alternative to plastic. Anytime and anywhere. Cardboard, wood, metal, fabric - all can be recycled. Plastic - no. Check the labeling of goods and try to buy those that are produced with the least harm to nature. Don't buy medicines for future use - they disappear, we throw them away, they get into the soil and water, and this can be dangerous.
Of course, giving up your usual way of life is always difficult. But, according to those who are already on this path, we ourselves will not notice how our expenses on unnecessary purchases will almost halve. But a lot of time and money will be freed up for travel, books, family and other interesting and useful things. Not to mention the less garbage on the planet.
Akim Bukhtatov