Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Educate the Masses!
“The city (New York) now produces more than 25,000 tons of solid waste daily.”1 Think about that for a second. Now remember that happened yesterday, and the day before, and it’s been happening for weeks, months, years, decades. Now think about other cities, and now, their waste production over time. One quickly realizes the incredible amount of garbage people are producing each day and how much we’ve already generated. It makes me wonder how the earth has survived so long under the constant barrage of the result of humanity’s over indulgence. It’s true that most of the garbage we produce ends up in land fills, but next time you are outside be on the lookout for misplaced garbage. I’m sure you’ll notice far more than you would have expected. I see it along the roadside when I go jogging, the local beaches are nearly covered in it2, the local creeks & rivers are full of it. Over the past few decades there have been various anti-litter and recycle campaigns and they’ve been successful to a degree, but for this planet to have a chance, we need to be more effective in our efforts to persuade our fellow humans to be more responsible for how much trash they produce and how they dispose of it. The obvious first step is education. If we can show people the facts, ask them the right questions to get them thinking in the right direction, then we can teach them how to be responsible in this regard.
One of the best ways to educate large portions of the population is through television. Skipping channels this weekend I was excited to see a show covering this exact topic. The show is called Wa$ted. Each episode profiles a household for two weeks. The first week, the host studies their habits and at the end of the week gives them tips on how to live a less wasteful life (they call it lowering their footprint). The second week, they are on their own. They try to follow the hosts advice to see how much savings it makes. At the end of the second week the host calculates the savings and extrapolates it over a year and the result is given to the members of the household. Over the past few weeks I’ve also enjoyed some other “eco-educational” (if you will) shows. Two from the ScienceChannel (Eco-Tech and InventionNation), and Human Footprint on the National Geographic Channel. I’m glad to see these types of shows on tv where they can reach a large audience. I would love to see similar shows on the major networks(CBS, NBC, ABC), and attention brought to ecological issues on their primetime shows.
~~ Reduce - Reuse - Recycle – (spread the word) ~~
I thought the show Clean Sweep was equally revealing–it showed just how much excess junk people have, and how weeding through it all (right there in your own yard in front of TV cameras) meant that 75-80% of it was meaningless excess (to be yard-saled or donated) and the remaining 20-25% actually went back into the house. More room, more money, and more peace of mind for the homeowners…but nobody ever went BACK to those “clean-swept” homes to see if homeowners returned to their old ways.
Most of what we hang onto is for sentimental reasons and emotional attachment. Cut the ties, and we become free.
Sometimes an emotional investment costs us way more than a monetary one, and we don’t even know it until someone with tie-cutting scissors comes along.
Free Give means free stuff, free recycling and a cleaner environment. Freegive is made up of groups with members across the world. Freegive connects people who are giving and getting stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. This is an easy way to reduce the clutter in your home and help someone else at the same time. Clear out your cupboards, attics, sheds and garages with minimal effort. Working or easily repairable goods, such as furniture, recycle toys, recycle car parts, recycle beds, recycle sofas anything that is taking up space can be passed on to someone else if you are upgrading your own. Best of all, it’s completely free to join. Visit freegive home page at ( http://www.freegive.co.uk )
Freegive group is active in all United Kingdom, USA and other countries across the world, find a group near you at ( http://www.freegive.co.uk/groups.htm )
Simply post details of your unwanted item on your local group and then arrange for whoever wants it to come and collect it. Another benefit of using Freegive is that it encourages us to get rid of junk that we no longer need and promote community involvement in the process. By using Freegive, not only are you able to get rid of your item with the minimum of fuss; you will also be doing your part in stopping another reusable item ending up in a landfill and, at the same time, helping someone in your community by gifting them the item you no longer need. The only rule is that everything posted are free. There is no charge for this, it’s completely free to join. Visit Freegive homepage at ( http://www.freegive.co.uk )
Please can you pass the word around to your friends, family, co-workers, classmates, make an announcement at your professional or social organization, church members, workmates and help freegive.co.uk grow bigger and stronger.
Summary: everyone should join!