Introduction As a kid, I grew up down the street from a guy we called Max. Max was pretty normal; he had a wife, a few kids, and occasionally sang “Proud to be an American” at Boy Scout functions. Max was also in commercials. He was the guy in the “Don’t Waste Utah” campaign. Max drove a cool car, had a cool dog, and he hated littering. Garbage is for a garbage can; putting it anywhere else is bad for the planet. Don’t. Waste. Utah. Seeing as how I believe in proper environmental stewardship, I read Gone Tomorrow for this month’s book club. It is a thought provoking book about a subject that many people choose not to lose sleep over: garbage. We all make it, and we all throw it out. Garbage is something that gives meaning to the phrase “out of sight, out of mind.” As soon as the garbage man comes at his regularly scheduled time, our trash is whisked away to be properly disposed of. As long as we put garbage in the trash can and not on the side of the street, we’re doing the right thing (and consequently not wasting Utah). Incidentally, there are those of us who sometimes wonder if there is something inherently wrong with our quick and “proper” disposal of discards. I, myself, have felt the occasional pang of guilt when I drop something in the trash can. I recycle; isn’t that enough? Gone Tomorrow explores this question, and it sheds a dirty light on the reality of our disappearing garbage trick. Sanitation and Disease In the beginning trash was more
Heather Roger claims our current garbage disposal methods are short term and etiquette. Rogers’s position is clear that we need to minimize the use of landfills and create better means to discard trash. In supporting Rogers’s environment views I think that we need to create a more economic and environmental friendly garbage disposal system. Heather Rogers and Lars Eighner both acknowledge the issue with society’s throwaway mentality. Eighner proves that we throw away perfectly working stuff, having survived off others discarded materials. Eighner argues against excessive waste we create but does not have any prospected solutions. Whereas Rogers acknowledges the obvious need to minimize our consumption of waste but argues the need
Many people say that recycling is a waste of time or that they just don't have the time.”Yes it’s popular in affluent neighborhoods like Park Slope in Brooklyn and in cities like San Francisco, but residents of Bryon and Houston don't have the same fervor for sorting garbage in their spare time’(“The Reign of Recycling”). The world needs more people to recycle no matter where they live. It seems that even if more people have started recycling things have not changed much.”While it’s true that the recycling message has reached more people than ever, when it come down to the bottom line,both economically and environmentally, not much has changed at all”(“The Reign of Recycling”). People need to work harder to make a change that will account to something. The goals are being set higher and higher but with little success. ”While politicians set higher and higher goals, the national rate of recycling has stagnated in recent years”(“The Reign of Recycling”). This rate has ceased to flow. If something changes how people feel about recycling then the nation may be able to meet its
Municipal solid wastes are leftovers made by the population such as food, plastic bottles, household wares and many more. These items referred by most as “the garage” or “trash”. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2015) In the early 1900’s, incinerators were used to burn waste however by the Mid-20th century, lawmakers enacted the first government regulations in an attempt to address increasing concerns about the environmental impact of unregulated waste management practices. With the first waste management legislation being passed in 1965, brought along the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, thus bringing us into a new world of waste management.(Vault, n.d.)
In Matt Porter’s video, “Freegans: Creative Living Outside of Capitalism” a gentleman states, “Our waste can feed a nation.” In this case, some of America’s waste is feeding the scavengers. Homelessness can lead to dumpster diving for a means of survival. These people dig through thrown out items that can still be eaten and used. One man’s discarded garbage, in turn, can become another man’s lifeline. “Almost everything I have now has already been cast out at least once, proving that what I own is valueless to someone,” (362) Eighner confessed about some of the treasures he has gathered from dumpster diving. Because the general public missuses its resources, dumpster finds are either used for personal gain, such as eating, or they will be
In “On Dumpster Diving”, Lars Eighner champions the idea of dumpster diving and making use of all available materials in a conservative manner. Eighner was extremely educated about the task of “dumpster diving,” and spoke to his audience of those who may oppose dumpster diving or living in a practical manner. Eighner’s purpose in scavenging through the dumpster was not just something to occupy his time, but it was his way of life. His ideal goal was seemingly to bring awareness on ways to end wastefulness in our country, as many people strive to do today.
In a world full of different people that come from various backgrounds, there are different perspectives on what is found as important. Something that is seen as trash or useless by one may have once meant the world to another person. Each piece of trash carries a memory from its past life, ready to take on its new life to help the next person in one way or another. Howard Nemerov’s poem “The Town Dump”, Lars Eighner’s essay “On Dumpster Diving”, and “The Town Dump” by Wallace Stegner each tell a story about how trash has impacted them. Even though these pieces are written with different messages, each piece of writing uses tone to establish the importance of local trash, as well as establishing the history behind its significance.
Just recently, I had the opportunity to meet with Ms. Andrea Kuiper, from the City of Reno Office. Ms. Kuiper is currently acting as the city Environmental Director. During our meeting, we discuss the efforts that the city has been contributing, to environmental sustainability. Ms. Kuiper, was happy to share some of the events they have hosted last year, to educate people about environment sustainability, and how it is practical. Reno hosted the Sustainability Festival, partnered with University of Nevada (UNR) summer of 2014. This festival consist of “Reused+Recycle=Art”, and a key speaker, Ms. Beth Terry to speak to the public on her book title “How I kicked the plastic habit and how you can too, a practical guide to ridding one life of plastic. Ms. Kuiper was proud to announce that “the city of Reno is working towards becoming a zero waste city, and hopes that other cities will follow in Reno footsteps. I find that statement challenging because zero waste is a philosophy; the community will have to change their current mindsets and lifestyle.
The second service-learning experience with the DNA club was a roadside clean-up on Highway 16, near Pettibone Beach. There were 18 of us who spent 2 hours cleaning up the half-mile stretch of highway. It was amazing to see how quickly our garbage bags got full. With every piece of garbage, I picked up, I found myself becoming more and more upset. It is difficult to fathom how individuals in our society resort to throwing their garbage out of their windows, rather than recycling it or throwing it in a receptacle. Ordinarily, it doesn 't seem like a big issue, the trash can quickly accumulate on the sides of the roads. This can pose major environmental issues if wildlife such as birds, turtles, and fish eat the trash or become entangled in
When Sean Cole walked the streets of Queens on that fateful day, little did he know the course of his life was going to change for good. Walking home, he saw the town with new eyes. He asked himself, “Is there no way to properly dispose refuse in Queens?”
When looking back on a beautiful day what do you remember the most? The weather, the people walking around you, or the trash that is lining our streets and filling our world’s oceans? Littering in our society has been a major environmental issue, but more recently it has become such a problem that action needs to be taken immediately. As a whole society we need to make better living choices so that our world doesn’t die because of the human race. Currently our earth and the animals living upon it, including humans, are suffering underneath the amount of litter left everyday by people. What we, everyone as a society, needs to do to fix this problem is come together in order to keep our earth from dying before it kills us. A single person can’t
“There has been great progress within this community in the amount of materials diverted from the landfill for reuse and recycling. I ask people, often students, do you know what happen to you trash. If not, find out. Think about where it goes and when you are done, and whether you wants piles and piles of trash everywhere. Don’t think someone else is going to do it. Know that you can do it, and when you do, it sets an example for others to follow”, she
As a member of Environmental Club, I participate in sorting and processing the recyclables in the high school once a month. A few times a year, the Environmental Club holds a “trash bash,” where our entire club meets at a “trashed” area in our community and cleans it up. This normally takes most of the
We must keep the area around us clean. All garbage must be thrown in bins. When we throw empty packets, cans, bottles, and other trash on the road, we make our surroundings dirty and untidy.
In 2010, Americans produced about 250 million tons of garbage and only 34 percent was recycled. Littering may be small, but when it accumulates it can become a serious issue, which nowadays unfortunately already exists. There’s numerous amounts of negative impacts caused by this matter that not everyone is aware of. These ramifications not only impact the people itself, but animals and environments as well. In addition, this incident has enough power to contribute to other pollution types that exist as well. For example: an article by the Chicago Tribune from 2011, called “Chicago River cleanup required”, states that because of all the waste in the waterways, approximately $72 million will be needed to disinfect these waterways. As any bad
“Since the beginning of time people have needed to find a way of disposing of their trash.”(Bassis, Luke)Proper garbage disposal is important to ensure everyone's safety from possible health hazards. The improper waste disposal of garbage is a major