Blog written by Jessica Jane Robinson
Most people don’t think too much about the waste they generate on a daly basis and where the waste goes after it’s thrown away. There is a disconnect that happens once a product reaches its “end of life” (the point at which a product is no longer desirable or usable) and is thrown away by the person it once brought joy and pleasure to.
It is less common for people to think about or analyze their waste and the impact it has on the planet and climate.
When people think about the causes of climate change the most popular are emissions from cars, factories, and coal, not their waste.
However our consumption and waste has a direct impact on the world and global community.
The United States is the number one consumer of the world’s natural resources and the number one waste generator. So if you are a US citizen, like me, you are one of the biggest contributors to climate change, just with your waste alone.
Everything we consume has a carbon price on it. It takes energy to extract natural resources, energy to transport the resources to factories, energy to turn the resources into products, and energy to get the products into stores, and energy to get buyers to purchase the products. The carbon price is an endless equation if you tried to factor in all the components that go into each step described above. After all that carbon it took to get one product into your or my hand, our planet and climate will take another detrimental hit once its thrown away.
Considering how much of human waste and liter is trashing our planet, it is easy to think our Mother Earth is lucky if our waste ends up in the garbage to be hauled away, never to be seen again, right?! Or is it?
It’s easy to throw things away in the garbage, to be buried or burned, because our unwanted “stuff” will no longer bother minds or our space with their presence. Or so you think?!
However the truth is our unwanted “stuff,” our “throw aways,” never go AWAY and are actually coming back transformed as a threat to our health, well-being, environment and climate.
Resilience Climate Change Expedition, Part 2 answers the question: How Does My Waste Directly Impact Climate Change.