Every Waste Counts
By: Gabriela Castro Arias 10B
Zero Waste Club
Every day my eyes crash with signals that show me our planet is gloomy, weak, hunted, and disappointed because of our actions. We are living a life completely accelerated in which we are reducing the importance and value to the things that really matter. We prioritize richness and fashion before health and sanity. It seems we haven't taken the time to stop and think that before money,beauty or anything, we first need a strong planet where to stand. We need a planet healthy enough to give us clean air and enough natural resources for everyone in nature to survive .
We should be sure that in the same way we are able to destroy and make Earth suffer , we also have the capacity to build, improve, learn, and be better or better than before. We can all cooperate with the wellness of this wonderful planet as soon as we compromise and want to do it. Definitely, a way to contribute is by summing up to a Zero Waste life.
One of the many things that are considered to be guilty in the condition of our planet is the impressive amount of trash people produce daily. Although we think that throwing all of it into the trash is the solution for it to disappear, when we throw garbage away it is just getting out of our home, but it keeps on Earth for a very long time. Whether the trash ends up in an enormous piece of land that accumulates all of it like ”El relleno de doña Juana” in Bogotá , or in the streets, or in the rivers, or in the oceans, it has nowhere else to go!!
If you want to open your eyes and discover how true and worrying all these situations around wastes are, take a look at the documentary ”Plastic Ocean” on Netflix. This documentary perfectly portrays the real life we are living by showing how oceans have become what I call an ocean of waste instead of an ocean of water. Animals living there are confusing their food with the plastic, so their stomachs are literally full of pieces of plastic. Also, they are getting trapped and even dying. Imagine if you were one of them living in the middle of trash. It is sad, but “Plastic Ocean” also presents some families whose houses are constructed on top of a land of garbage full of mosquitos and insects. People are getting sick!! I know, you must be disgusted, but that's how things are, and we must worry about waste in contaminating water, air and land, and that directly affects animals and public sanity.
Taking that into account, Zero Waste Club invites you all to take the chance of following these movements. Zero waste looks forward to living a life in which people can prevent and reduce the amount of garbage produced daily in order to avoid contamination and contribute to the betterment of our planet Earth. In that order, It is based on the rule of the 5 R’s: reduce, reuse, refuse, recycle, and rot (making our own compost at home). We can all participate by following simple tips such as:
Changing paper napkins for cloth napkins, as it was used to many years ago
Stop buying plastic water bottles, and take your reusable bottle everywhere. Also, take your cloth bag when going to the market so to not ask for the plastic ones
Turn of the light when it is not needed, and disconnect the charger and electrodomestics when they are not being used
When going to buy something ask yourself ”Do I need it? What is it for? Have I done something similar?” CONSUME CONSCIOUSLY!!
Search about sustainable products regarding tooth brushes, straws, and daily products, etc.
Avoid materials that are not reusable
Those are just a few, but very simple tips that we can all follow. Every small effort helps, and if we all take the initiative our planet for sure will thank us. Don't forget that this is the track into a better future, where we can all enjoy all the treasures nature has. Start now!! We can't allow things to keep getting out of control. Every new day is a day closer to the improvement or destroyment of our planet. You decide!!