How waste has come to define our society
In a world that is constantly searching for brand new, state-of-the-art innovations that we need to have, it’s easy to forget the old, discarded items we once loved. It seems as though everything we do own is packaged, wrapped, or engulfed in plastic, ready to be thrown away before we even open it. This begs the pressing question: How much waste do we make, and what does that say about us as a society?
During my years as an undergrad, living off of campus with my roommate shined an eye-opening light on how much we truly consumed and put to waste. Every week it seemed as though we had bags and bags full of overflowing garbage to be taken out, and that was only between the two of us! Having been brought up by a family that taught us to be mindful of our consumption needs, it shocked me to realize how easy it was to be wasteful.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…consumption rate of plastic bags today is over 500 billion…[/pullquote]
According to Statistics Canada, Canadians generated over 936 kilograms of waste per person in 2010. Of this total, 729 kilograms went to landfills, leaving waste disposal on the rise in Canada over the last few years. As of 2011, 1.3 billion tons of food, or one third of the global food production, are wasted annually. In low income countries, most of this loss occurs in production, while in developed countries such as Canada, food is wasted at the consumption stage. In a society where there is an overwhelming number of food options right outside of our doorstep, taking what we do have for granted has seemingly become inevitable.
Food is not the only contributor to the large amount of waste we produce, as consumerism has an enormously strong influence on our waste habits. Our consumption rate of plastic bags today is over 500 billion plastic bags annually. That is almost 1 million plastic bags being used every minute! These statistics are shocking and may seem too overwhelming to change, but it only takes small steps toward an effort to change the way we consume and dispose of our products to make a difference. Reusable bags may sound like a simple step towards change, yet the truth is that they are just not being used. During my time working as a cashier, I’ve been asked countless times to double bag, to provide extra bags, or to provide bags for small items that can be carried, while noticing that very few people, if any, come in with their own reusable bags.
Owning reusable food containers, packaging extra food up to save for later, reusable bags, and recycling are only a few of the many steps we can take to responsibly using our resources as a society. Donate your old clothing to a shelter or exchange shop rather than tossing them away. Buy a reusable water bottle, and try to limit what you buy to only what you genuinely need. These are simple steps that can make an incredible difference if each of us worked towards integrating these changes into our lives. Not only will we as a society benefit from changing our lifestyle and habits, as a better quality of life for future generations depends on how we, as a society protect the environment we live in.