What is „Less Waste”?
It is a lifestyle according to which we try to generate as little waste as possible it is and not to pollute the environment. According to forecasts, in 2050 in the sea will be more plastic bottles than fish. The plastic island that covers the oceans continues to grow. I would like to show you why reducing waste is important and how to easily reduce the daily consumption of plastic.
Why does less waste matter?
When you throw things away they go into landfill and they rest there… forever! They are not able to compost, because more stuff is dumped on top of it, not allowing any air (which is necessary to compost) to circulate. Instead, methane and carbon dioxide gases are emitted and released into the atmosphere, contributing to our global warming crisis. Which in turn has effects on corals destroying in oceans, rising sea temperatures and melting the glacier. Additionally, toxic chemicals from landfills are leached into the soil, contaminating our oceans and water which then we drink daily.
So, how to reduce plastic in our life if it is everywhere!?
First and the easiest step is to having your own bag for shopping. Polish people use up an average of 470 plastic bags a year per person. It seems to be not really big quantity, but in Poland there are more than 58 million people, so we use up about 17708 billion plastic bag per year. The easiest way is to have your own reusable bag. Buying vegetable and fruit could be more problematic but you can pack it directly to your reusable bag or bag made of thin fabric which is similar to plastic bag but is reusable. If you have your bag then you can refuse when the cashier asks if you need a plastic shopping bag, it is responsible attitude.
The second step is to reduce the amount of plastic bottles. There are a plenty of water filtering jugs and it is not necessary to buy water in plastic bottles. The third step is not throwing away the food. Before you go to buy food, it is really important to check what you already have in kitchen. It helps you avoid having too much food and save your money. Shopping list could be also helpful, remember that you can make it in your notes in phone.
I hope that this three tips will help you avoid producing waste. It is important to be aware of problem with plastic, and try to cope with it, because there is not plan(et) B…
Ola Zakrzewska 2c Liceum