Producing less waste is so essential and important right now.
For many reasons, like for instance our waste contributing to the already massive waste bin of the world, and also because most of our waste doesn’t get recycled but thrown away, shipped to different continents in exchange for money.
Our waste is also contributing to climate change and environment degradation.
When I say OUR I don’t mean only us as individuals but OURs as us part of a society that over produces way too much constantly.
Why are we consuming so much and where does it stop?
From cosmetics to clothes to new home gadgets, christmas decorations, halloween costumes, to single use plastic, the list goes on and on. And as much as the West has jumped on sustainability waves it is still producing way too much.
As for developing countries that do not have the same privileges as the west to join in the sustainability movement and come up with more reusable alternatives to single use plastic, they are unfortunately dealing with huge amounts of pollution, degradation of biodiversity and pollution of seawater on top of being Europe’s bin.
So how do we do better?
We as individuals part of collectives can not only start producing less waste, but also encourage people around us to follow the same trend, not only because it’s trendy, but because it is essential for the well being of our planet and ourselves.
Stop fast shopping: I think people don’t realise the amount of clothes that are being produced everyday.
The fashion industry is one of the biggest industries contributing to climate change and many of our wasted clothes just end up in mountains of waste in developing countries that can not keep up with the amount of waste coming from the west.
Say no to single use plastic: not just the plastic bags which have been banned in many western countries but those items and or food wrapped in unnecessary layers of plastic.
How many times have you gone to the supermarket and seen items that just didn’t need to be in plastic?
Well don’t go for that one.
It’s true that it is really the company producing it that shouldn’t be using that much plastic. They are the ones that could make the difference.
But right now we are just talking about how to produce less waste as individuals.
Think more minimalistic: I know this one hurts.
We all love things to some extent, new clothes, new things. For some of us it’s even spiritual and has to do with not being able to wear clothes that were already worn by others.
But if we all looked at the bigger picture, maybe most of us that don’t agree with this will reconsider.
The fashion industry is just producing too much.
Next time you really need that item, think twice, is it necessary? Is it worth contributing to a system that pollutes, a system that is responsible for the suffering of communities, exploitation of people?
It is not just the clothes it is also everything attached to it.
I am a painter in my spare time and one day I made the mistake of ordering some canvas through amazon. It was about 27 if I remember.
When I opened my packages I was beyond shocked to see that each one of them was wrapped in 2 layers of plastic then wrapped all together in more plastic.
I seriously could not believe my eyes.
But you see all that waste is accumulated in our bins.
We take our bins out, expect our hard working bin men to do their usual weekly collections, then those collections get taken to the dumpsters who will then process and recycle them and then the rest of it?
It adds up and up and gets taken somewhere else.
But then we have different types of waste.
What about the clothes that get produced every season and don’t get used and or sold.
They don’t always end up in seconhand shops or retails centre.
But where does it ends up ?
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