Throw Away, Where is “AWAY”?

Every one talks of “throwing away” the items that have been considered to be no longer useful or needed. This includes wrappers, plastic bags, pieces of paper, empty bottles/jars/cans, used electronic/electrical items, clothes, kitchen waste, left over food etc. One, who carelessly throws things that are considered to be of no use, causes littering.

Nature takes care of waste which is natural (biodegradable or wet garbage). What we really need to worry about is all that waste (non- degradable or dry garbage). No matter how small, each manmade item leaves behind a trail of waste at every stage of its life – as its raw materials are sourced, produced, packaged, transported, consumed and finally discarded/ thrown away.

From the scrutiny of type and quantity of garbage generated by a family, one can find out more about the lifestyles/habits of the family – what they drink, eat and waste. The cans/tins, the bottles/jars, the foils, cellophane, the packaged goods with more packaging than what is within, hardly used toys, electronic gadgets & accessories, left overs of food / snacks of the kids’ etc, that are thrown “away” as waste, are indicative of wasteful nature of their lifestyles, mindset and habits. A lot is thrown away because they don’t know that much of the stuff is needed. But they keep buying things they don’t always need and resort to throwing them, not mindful of where all they end up.

Most of the items being thrown away by many of the households as waste, consist of paper, plastic bags, packing material, foils, used aluminum cans, glass /plastic containers, electrical / electronic items etc. Dry waste, does not get easily or naturally destroyed and would remain just the same for years. As all these items can be recycled for salvaging and making new products with value addition, they should not be subjected to “Throw Away” and find their way into dustbins / garbage cans.

All the newspapers, old notebooks, magazines and used paper should be neatly stacked and stored for selling once a month. Similarly, plastic bags, packing material, empty bottles, jars and cans and all other dry waste material should be stored separately in a gunny sack or any other container and handed over once in a fortnight to the person picking up the garbage from the households. The electrical/electronic waste should be deposited at the designated centers for the purpose. Only the biodegradable wet garbage – Kitchen wastes- should be handed over for daily collection.

Thus the volume of domestic garbage being picked up daily and transported over long distances can be avoided. To the extent possible the used items such as glass bottles, jars etc. may be reused for storing spices, nails & pins etc.

Even with recycling and reuse, there is far too much waste generation. What can we do about it? Let us think of the contents of our dustbin and how to avoid some of them. We must try and stop / reduce waste generation from happening in the first place by thinking about what we buy and use even before we begin. Do we always really need all that we buy? Even after we buy, what do we get? Packing – all kinds, fancy and fun paper, plastic, cellophane, Styrofoam, foil-layer upon layer are examples of items just waiting to be peeled off and thrown away. Are we optimising the use of what we have and what we consume, before buying new ones or acquiring additional ones? Why not we try to reduce what we buy and what we use and to be thrown away in the first place?

Finished with the chips? Throw away the packet. Toothpaste over? Throw away the tube. Exhausted the ink in ballpen? Chuck it away. Then what? Where does it all go? Waste just cannot go away or disappear. It just turns up again – on someone else’s doorstep or garden. Why not we think before we throw?

* If we don’t need something, it might be still be useful to someone. Give old books, toys and clothes to the needy.

* Try finding another use for what you plan to throw. A pencil holder from a can…The possibilities are endless.

* Please carry a “Bag” (Jute/Cloth) instead of a “Carry Bag” (Plastic)

* Last but not the least; why not try to reduce, what you buy in the first place?

The fact of life is that all that we “throw” as waste ends up ultimately polluting air, water and soil adversely affecting the very food cycle and quality of our lives.

Let us pledge to cut down on waste, right at the roots and enter into 3 R Pact – Recycle, Reuse and Reduce.