When I was moving out of my dorm after freshmen year in college I remember there were bins and areas to leave all the things you didn't want to take back home. Out of curiosity I took a gander to see if there was anything I might want to bring home with me. There were Microwaves, shoes, clothing, drawers, TVs and miscellaneous objects. Some students even asked passerbys if they could take X item with them only because it had sentimental value and it didn't fit in their car. They didn't want to just leave it sitting there with a pile of trash, because this person was so attached to the item. This just goes to show that we tend to own more than we can even carry because we believe we NEED these things, leading to the increase of trash when we don't really NEED it. I believe in the idea that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Since there is so much stuff around, eventually something is bound to be of use to another person.
The pattern I see very often is that most people end up replacing things they toss out with new stuff that will eventually get tossed out as well. When you throw shit away you don’t realize where it ends up, if it’s out of sight it’s out of mind but ultimately it ends up taking space and pollutes our earth. It takes a really long time for garbage to decompose and that all depends on what exactly is in the landfill. Here is a link that shows the time it takes for decomposition of different materials. These materials inevitably end up in our soil where we grow the food we eat.
I have received a total of 5 iPod in the past 4 years and each one was newer than the last. I didn't even have to purchase an iPod and I already have more than I need. The amazing part is that people actually buy them either because they simply need to have the latest version or because they don’t value what they already have. Our society today are consumerists, obsessed with having the newest smartphone, mp3 player, Jordan pumps etc. they want to be current. The media is responsible for making consumers believe they NEED whatever it is that they’re advertising to survive. Many people say “I can’t live without my phone,” (see Hareena’s post on technology) and this ideology paves the way for over consumption when media is looking after their own profits, creating more stuff than we need.
The best way to make sure that something has been used to the fullest extent is to donate it. Donating items allows that it will get more use. Considering the amount of waste we already have, the ideal thing to do is reduce, reuse, and re-purpose. By doing this we are reducing the creation of more trash for mother earth to be burdened with and further ensuring that stuff gets used. Before we decide we want a new phone we should look at the need, can our current phone do the trick for a little while more? We as a society need to begin to realize that this is our earth, we only get one and we need to take care of it. We may have our differences in trash vs. treasure but we can all agree the important treasure is the one keeping us alive, the planet EARTH, FOO!
peace to the trees.
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