“Go check out the waste room” My friend said to me.
I popped into the stinky room of where I am staying in Lincoln Park, Chicago. A neighbor was moving to Florida and throwing everything away. I was astonished to see so many viable products going to waste.
A bag full of plastic hangers, a brand new fan still in the box, a juicer, 5 bags of clothes.
New kitchen supplies and speaker system???!!!!!!!
Living off of little on a completely sustainable homestead in Hawaii, has cultivated within an appreciation for materials and what they represent.
My first time as a garbage picker, I went in there and plucked the stuff to use and donate.
Sustainability is the way of our future, it’s quite disconcerting to witness how much
We waste.
It’s easy to think out of sight out of mind, yet, our trash is taking up enormous amounts of space in our earth and oceans.
No one to blame, instead addressing a system that is set up quite unsustainably.
A more sustainable society would include an organized system of waste, to minimize the amount of used space.
Stuff and Clothes
I love to shop and be fashionably on top, yet over the past few years have developed a complex about buying new, from places that are unsustainable and un-humanitarian.
“There must be a better way”
I think to myself
“As quickly as this fashion comes in, it goes out.”
Fashion labels could reconstitute old fabric in overfilled donation centers for new pieces, sustainability becoming a fashion statement beyond vintage.
A mentality of sustainability could replace this outdated modality of purchasing so much stuff and creating waste.
How?
By thinking more about what is bought and thrown away.
Realizing that the idea
new and better = consumerism condition.
This mindset comes from the constant barrage of brainwashed competition to have the newest and best.
Watch any commercial and you will see this blatantly displayed.
To sell one into, out with the old, in with the new.
Between us Americans there is abundance alone to donate and reuse, to families in need here and overseas, which could balance out the imbalance of materials and
stuff turned waste.
The mindset of hoarding and buying “newer and better” could be minimized by recycling what is already in production.
There could even be places set up for this in a system of trade.
What is one persons trash could be anothers found treasure.
This process of donating could be made easier for our quick fix society, implemented as part of our trash system that is then filtered and designated properly.
A good friend has started a non-profit in Detroit in line with this idea. She is taking what people no longer want and donating to those in need.
World-Bridger Non Profit can be found on Facebook if you would like to donate in the Detroit area.
Abundance comes from giving.
Compost
Organic compost when broken down anaerobically and aerobically not only creates new soil when compounded correctly, but can also be a source of sustainable energy.
To help with the shortage of healthy soil, we can create new soil out of compost, a process that is rather simple and can be done on large levels. When I worked on an organic farm in New Mexico we undertook this process. What this consisted of was making soil from a pile of organic material,
then we would pile on poo (cow manure) ; )
and straw material from the dry desert.
We would soak this concoction for 5 minutes at a time, while continuously piling more on.
Over time it would breakdown and after filtering, a dark silty soil would result.
By organizing and creating a separate system of compost in our trash system, it could serve the purpose of creating energy and soil production.
Recycling
Recycling, obviously, should be incorporated into our waste systems for all plastics, glass, paper, styrofoam and metals. I have found in major cities like NYC and Chicago there is a lack of recycling programs in larger buildings.
In a quick fix society, many will just throw away recyclable materials.
I like the idea of this recyclone
Wish:
for our government to take some of the billions going towards useless wars, and allocate funds to implement more organized systems for our trash nationally.
Which could help the needy, create new forms of energy, soil, and minimize the space we take up in these landfills.
xo,
Nicole
Purpose and Dream 