Wednesday 16 April 2008

thoughts fuelled by a dumpster....


In the few months i've been in the US, i have been surprised about the amount of trash that is generated. Most of the things used in everyday life are disposable, and add to the quickly increasing pile of trash. (cups,plates,napkins are common, but do things like baking trays and contact lenses need a disposable version...) I think Indians by nature reuse things more....almost everything is given a second lease of life...from clothes,books and toys passed on from older to the younger children, to plastic bags and bottles used over and over again....
well, something is thrown out only if all possible means of repair or reuse have been exhausted...
a few days ago,i looked out of my window one morning and was apalled to see a big white mattress, with no visible damage to it, dumped into the trash bin(and was removed soon after).
i should say i was quite shocked by the sight...why would anyone dump a seemingly good mattress in the trash....surely, one could find someone in need of it, some charity organization willing to take it, or atleast put it up at a garage sale or something....
it think it would be nice if everyone would do their little bit to reduce the amount of trash we dump on the face of the earth... this planet has so much to offer us - even if we can never give back as much as we take out of nature,let us do what little we can in minimising the damage we cause...
surely,the world would be a much better place with fewer landfills......
just pause for a minute before the next time you toss something out....

3 comments:

  1. u r right..they seem to create more waste..but for a cot/sofa to be thrown...guess bed bugs cud be a reason u knw....
    in fact here recycling is more organised..u can set up almost an entire house thru goodwill or craigslist.

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  2. for beds, as you say, hygiene may be a concern....
    of course there's no denying the fact that recycling is well organised here...but recently i was so surprised to find even a TV and coffee table near my dumpster... :)given our Indian upbringing,it was a surprise to see these things thrown out :)
    did'nt know abt this craigslist...
    and hey, thanks for leaving a comment... :)

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  3. The Americans being at the forefront of being capitalist believe in using the entire world as their skip (dumping ground).. it also serves them right on their policy of non stop consumption and keep the engine of economy running.

    A contrasting approach is Germany. Where 68% of all things produced are recycled.

    Big talker Britain is way below at 20%. Unorganised India will miss out because of improper data collection methods.... we use and reuse and reuse the same carry bags until they refuse and become refuse.

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