What do you consider "trash"? Maybe you picture that cartoon-like image of a browning apple core, a slippery banana peel, a raggedy tin can, and a fish bone as trash. Well, most of that is not trash by my definition of the word. That tin can can be recycled, those two beautiful pieces of food waste can be composted, and that fish bone, well, that can stay there... But the point is, we need to rethink what kinds of things we consider to be useless, non-repurposable trash, because a lot of this material is taking up space in landfills when it doesn't need to be.
In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 13.2 percent of the total municipal waste was yard trimmings and about 12.7 percent was food scraps. That means that 25.9 percent of the total municipal waste (before recycling) had the potential to be composted. Just by the numbers you can see that something big needs to change. But where do you start?
The first step is recognizing how you are directly contributing to the problem. I have always considered myself an avid recycler, but until earlier this year I never thought twice about how unreasonably big my definition of "trash" still was.
Next, you have to decide how large of a scale you can effectively apply yourself to. Because we all eat food and throw some stuff away, this idea can be seen as global, but it's easier to start a little smaller. So two other seniors at my school and I thought about it and realized that a concentrated group of kids and teenagers, all eating at least one full meal per day within the same general area, provided the ideal setting to retrain peoples' habits of dumping all their trash in the nearest trashcan and leaving it at that.
Once you've gotten past the point of figuring out where your effort would be most effective, you have to do something. Buckminster Fuller said, "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something you have to build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." Taking this example, we started a composting system at our high school.
Looking back, almost exactly a month from when we put the new bins and the composter on campus, I see something really amazing. I see the potential that being inspired by something can have. What I've really learned is that there will be people who inspire you and push you, but what you really have to do is take responsibility and let that inspiration evolve into action and change. Our small group of three 17-year-old high schoolers with some motivation and knowledge has exponentially grown to become an entire community of educated people who can continue to spread this information beyond what we alone could have possibly reached on our own.
we humans are learning with our throw away societies. Industries have figured out how to engineer
fatigue into products so they will self-distruct after 3 years use or 5 year use so they can continue
selling products. The limited amount of resources on earth does not allow such waste to continue indefinitly and eventually human society will have no alternative but to return to the more primitive ways if by then it has not become to late.
If you are interested, research what I call "Built in Fatigue For Self Distruction" engineering used by industries and it will be an eye opener for you.
Thank you for writing your article and I think it is wonderful that you are so focused.
Rolf Krogsæther
That you and others of like minded, motivated and couragous next generation working in your communities, raising awareness of methods which are within the reach of all is what
will save us from our wastefull ways. I have a belief in the natural goodness of most people and most peoples' desire to become aware, work towards a higher good and the cherishing of our home, earth, this planet where we are the caretalkers is a want of larger and larger numbers of our neighbors and others. It is just that many do not know where to start and are at the edges of hopelessness though you and your friends have shown a way which will spark and motivate others.
The earth is a most magnifient planet Caroline of which you are already aware.
Here is a web site which you and others will aquire knowledge from.
http://www.ratical.org/LifeWeb/
Rolf
We need that material to provide the backup to solar and wind.
Waste bio Char bio fuels are carbon negative burying the char as fertilizer, land and water negative, cheaper than fossils and clean without the mercury, heavy metals, radiation and ecological destruction.
http://www.splainex.com/waste_recycling.htm
http://www.biochar-international.org/technology/production
http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/Revolutionary-New-Process-Turns-Biomass-Waste-into-Fuel-Oil.html
http://www.plancanada.com/biochar_basics.pdf
2$ per watt bio char energy plant. 150 Gt/y waste bio mass, 100 GW electricity
http://buildaroo.com/news/article/biofuel-from-human-waste-project-england/ 15% energy needs!
http://www.biochar-international.org/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/11/biochar-could-offset-12-o_n_678489.html
http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/biochar-alone-could-offset-12-of-all-human-greenhouse-gas-emissions-study.html
even better if this is true: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/09/29/plants-gobbling-up-co2-45-more-than-thought/
instead of 120 petagrams of carbon, the annual global vegetation uptake probably lies between 150 and 175 petagrams of carbon.Â
http://energy.aol.com/2011/12/28/biomass-facility-at-savannah-river-set-to-save-doe-nearly-1-bil/
a great source of phosphorus.
www.facebook.ArcherCompost.com
www.twitter.ArcherCompost.com