Preserving the environment is everyone’s job. It is a social responsibility of every human being who uses the resources of the planet to survive. It does not take a lot to try to keep wastage at a minimum in a person’s daily life. It only takes the mindset of saving the environment for one to be conscious of the little things that are taken for granted – little things that amount to a big change. Applying a home waste management system is a simple task that would reap several benefits. Aside from a guilt-free feeling that mother earth is not being abused, it also helps maintain a clean, odor-free house. Implementing home waste management starts with very little investment – trash cans. One of the biggest enemies of nature is garbage, if a household is not conscious of their wastage; everything that would go into their bins would be considered garbage. With this, the household will be considered to add a problem in the society!
The biggest involvement of the household in saving mother Earth is actually trying to cut garbage in half. To start doing so, a household should have at least 2 trashcans in the kitchen to segregate the 2 main types of trash which are biodegradable and non-biodegradable. If the 2 types of trash are mixed together, then they are considered to be garbage.
Biodegradable are trash that rot, they are organic items that come from the earth. Examples of biodegradable trash are left-over food, paper, fruit peelings and the likes. While biodegradable trash is icky, wet and stinky, they can be disposed of easily as they will go back to their original state if placed back on soil. With this, a household with an available garden or a nearby empty patch of land can dig up a trash pit. All biodegradable items can be thrown into the pit daily to get rid of the trash.
It is important to note that every time trash is thrown into the pit, a layer of soil should be placed on top to cover the bad smell of decomposition. For condominiums and houses that don’t have the luxury of an empty piece of land, the way to go about composting is preparing around 30 pots with a thin layer of soil. Place the biodegradable trash in one pot daily and do not forget to cover with a layer of soil. By then end of 30 days, empty the pots of the soil and start again. There are companies that buy the soil from this type of compost as the soil from compost is healthier than normal!
Non-biodegradable items on the other hand are those that do not rot. Examples are bottles, plastic, rubber, metal and such. As these items will not blend back in with nature, the best way to dispose of them is to recycle. There are several ways to recycle. The first option is selling to a junk shop; it is easy enough to get a list of items that junk shops are willing to buy as well as the price list. Posting this on the fridge would entice everyone in the household to throw trash in the right place; it would also familiarize them with “valuable junk.” Another option is to do junk art, practice creativity and explore alternatives on what to do with some junk. An empty bottle of wine can be re-decorated to make a cute vase, a can of tennis balls can be used as a container of crayons, ice cream tumblers can be plant boxes, etc.
There will be some items that will not be appropriate for recycling such as used toilet paper, sanitary napkins and other items from the bathroom. While a household cannot do anything to prevent this, knowing that their garbage is cut into at least half is a comforting thought, it feels great knowing that the environment is a little better off.
