Where Does Your Waste Go?

     One of the main goals for me here is to get people to reduce their ecological footprint. Using less materials that can't be recycled, reducing the amount of single-use items (I'm looking at you plastic bags!) and making compost out of food waste. Without being obnoxious, I try to help my friends think a little bit about their actions and the repercussions that those actions have. Yes, my advice is at times unsolicited, however I do my best not to cram said advice down people's throats. I just try to share what I have learned reducing my amount of waste. Point out that some things are thrown away for no reason. If you're just gonna toss it after using it once, why not skip that step and not even use it to begin with, you know?

     Yesterday, a friend from my German class drove me home. She asked me if it was okay with we stopped at the supermarket so she could pick up a few things. First stop was the produce aisle (supermarkets are pretty much the same in Germany as in America, just smaller). My friend grabbed some bananas off the shelf, pulled off a plastic bag from the roll and threw them in, like so many of us do. How many times to do you that? Grab a bag for something that really doesn't require one?

     I was like, "Whaaaaat? You don't need a plastic bag for bananas. They are already attached together in nature's carrying case. They come pre-wrapped in their own organic wrapper! Do you really need a bag?"
     My friend looked perplexed and said, "But the bags are here for us to use." It seems that she hadn't really considered why she had grabbed one, but just automatically grabbed the plastic bag off the roll because they were there. "It isn't a big deal. So what?" she waved me off and moved on to the spice aisle.
     So I asked her, "Are you going to use that bag again?"
     "Well, no," she answered...and then there it was. The look. The look that many people get when they realize something for the first time. I had interrupted her normal behavior with a question that she could not quite answer.

     My friend kept the bananas in the bag and after checking out, she drove me home. I did not convince her to not take the bag, nor did I try. But, I did get her to think about it. In a week or so, she may very well show up to class and tell me that she bought bananas at the market again, but this time didn't put them in a plastic bag. Which is a small victory. We have been so conditioned to grab things when we shop that we really don't need: plastic bags, individually wrapped meals, all that crap at the check out counter. Many times, we grab that stuff because everyone else does without thinking about what happens to that plastic bag once you get home, remove the bananas and toss the bag away.

     Quite often, when I point these types of things out to people, they stop and think. If I can get someone to re-evaluate those small actions, then it makes a difference. Because the person I get to reconsider their behavior with something as ingrained into every day life like grocery shopping, they will most likely share with others what they now do if they make a change. That helps shift towards a more closed-loop and sustainable way of life. Less waste because we reduce, reuse and recycle. That's how you change the world.

     Here's a video about food waste. Its short and good. Enjoy!