Junkyard Campfire Moon, by Baggeb. Used by permission of the artist.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a person in possession of goods and fortune, must be in want of a landfill.” - Not-Jane Austen.
They say that if you want to learn about a civilization, find its landfills. From Tribal midden mounds to Edwardian loos, if you want to find out about tools, pottery, food consumed, whatever – find the garbage.
When there were less people on the earth, garbage was less of a problem. When what we tossed was biodegradable, there was less of a problem. Before the age of plastic, we had landfills. Now, we have landmines.
We have microplastics in every form of life, from the fish in the ocean to human’s wombs and testes. This stuff is never, ever going away. From time to time, you hear about someone who has found a way to gather it up in the ocean. Great. Then what? Do they recycle it? Does it become EVEN MORE plastic?
I was horrified to learn, while watching the Netflix docudrama Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy, that we produce about 400 million tons of plastic waste every year. According to the UN, a million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, somewhere on the planet. Approximately 36% of all plastics produced are used in packaging, including single-use plastic products for food and beverage containers. Approximately 85% of this ends up in landfills or as unregulated waste.
And we got here in my lifetime.
When I think of the things my ancestors treasured, they were natural materials, often crafted by hand– glass, porcelain, linens, laces, precious metals, wood. When I look at the picture I posted in Day 3 of this series of sweet items from my grandfather’s basement bar, not one of them is plastic.
When there were less people on the earth, garbage was less of a problem. When what we tossed was biodegradable, there was less of a problem. Before the age of plastic, we had landfills. Now, we have landmines.
We have microplastics in every form of life, from the fish in the ocean to human’s wombs and testes. This stuff is never, ever going away. From time to time, you hear about someone who has found a way to gather it up in the ocean. Great. Then what? Do they recycle it? Does it become EVEN MORE plastic?
I was horrified to learn, while watching the Netflix docudrama Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy, that we produce about 400 million tons of plastic waste every year. According to the UN, a million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, somewhere on the planet. Approximately 36% of all plastics produced are used in packaging, including single-use plastic products for food and beverage containers. Approximately 85% of this ends up in landfills or as unregulated waste.
And we got here in my lifetime.
When I think of the things my ancestors treasured, they were natural materials, often crafted by hand– glass, porcelain, linens, laces, precious metals, wood. When I look at the picture I posted in Day 3 of this series of sweet items from my grandfather’s basement bar, not one of them is plastic.
Contrast that with a trip to Target. Or Walmart. Or even the grocery store. Spend your next trip being aware of the sheer amount of plastic being sold and used in the store. Look hard at all the things that are meant to be disposed – not reused. Not possible to recycle.
Consider that with the stories we now know about how little of the plastic recycling stream actually gets processed. It’s miniscule. It’s defeating.
I have no answers for you, friends. Other than to ask you to do what you can. Look for people who recycle electronics and more challenging plastics (really.) Don’t necessarily trust your curbside pickup, if you still have it. You’ll have to work harder to do your part.
In my cleaning out, I have first looked for ways for people to reuse what I don’t want. If that doesn’t happen directly, I donate to organizations that only take what they think they can sell and return or recycle the rest. Sometimes I put items on the curb with a “Free” sign. They almost always disappear. The landfill is the very last option, and I hate to use it.
It’s clear those in charge are not interested in saving the planet. If it’s going to happen, like so much real change, it will be grassroots. And we’re tired. It’s all a lot, right now.
Gaia needs us. If we’re not careful, she, in her entirety, will be this civilization’s landfill.
Consider that with the stories we now know about how little of the plastic recycling stream actually gets processed. It’s miniscule. It’s defeating.
I have no answers for you, friends. Other than to ask you to do what you can. Look for people who recycle electronics and more challenging plastics (really.) Don’t necessarily trust your curbside pickup, if you still have it. You’ll have to work harder to do your part.
In my cleaning out, I have first looked for ways for people to reuse what I don’t want. If that doesn’t happen directly, I donate to organizations that only take what they think they can sell and return or recycle the rest. Sometimes I put items on the curb with a “Free” sign. They almost always disappear. The landfill is the very last option, and I hate to use it.
It’s clear those in charge are not interested in saving the planet. If it’s going to happen, like so much real change, it will be grassroots. And we’re tired. It’s all a lot, right now.
Gaia needs us. If we’re not careful, she, in her entirety, will be this civilization’s landfill.
Resources:
UN Environmental Programme - https://www.unep.org/interactives/beat-plastic-pollution/
Netflix – Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy. https://www.netflix.com/title/81554996
Plastic Free July - https://www.plasticfreejuly.org
CHaRM recycling center - https://livethrive.org/charm/
Photo at top, Junkyard Campfire Moon by Baggeb, a 19 year old artist from Sweden.
Pixabay (Image #5337048) used with permission of the artist.
UN Environmental Programme - https://www.unep.org/interactives/beat-plastic-pollution/
Netflix – Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy. https://www.netflix.com/title/81554996
Plastic Free July - https://www.plasticfreejuly.org
CHaRM recycling center - https://livethrive.org/charm/
Photo at top, Junkyard Campfire Moon by Baggeb, a 19 year old artist from Sweden.
Pixabay (Image #5337048) used with permission of the artist.
RSS Feed