(Note: The purpose of this blog is to promote environmental education and increase awareness on the garbage situation and handling at the very comfort of our own home.)
-----------
You got a nice home, a happy family, a nice job enough to feed your family and a good spiritual relationship with God.
So what else is missing?
Isn't it about time that we start caring for our environment?
Recent studies show that the Philippines is the 3rd largest contributor of plastic waste in the world along with China and Indonesia. It uses almost 60 billion sachets a year (GAIA, March 2020).
And reality is that, we are contributors to this environmental disaster.
Until we start doing our part, we are putting our Mother Earth at risk. Our earth soil, water and air will be greatly affected.
When are we going to do our share on saving Mother Earth?
We can start it right in our own place. Our Home.
Difficult it may seem. But not impossible to do and you may never know the inner-reward for caring for our Mother Earth.
So how do we get started?
Let us use as guide, the Zero-Waste Management Principle.
REDUCE, RE-USE, RECYCLE
------------
REDUCE
We can start reducing our home waste by refusing garbage-contributor which we may unconsciously not aware of. This is by refusing single-use plastics.
- When going to groceries and supermarkets or even at nearby sari-sari store we can instead bring eco bags and food containers and refuse the use of plastics for our grocery items.
- When buying your favorite "taho" or "pandesal" you can instead provide your own cups and bread container.
- If your budget can allow buying items in big sizes instead of items in small packaging or sachets such as coffee, creamers and sugar instead of 3-in-1 packs. Note that packaging wastes contribute about 65% of our household trash.
- Go paperless with your bills.
RE-USE
These refers to products or components that are not totally waste and which can be used again for the same purpose for which they were conceived.
- Containers such as biscuit cans, sandwich spread and even softdrink bottles can be reused at home or for school projects. For example softdrink bottles can be used as planters. Biscuit cans can be used as condiment containers in our kitchen.
Buy beverages in returnable containers. Patronize the old-school style of buy and return. Softdrinks, cooking oil , refillable mineral waters (not the small bottles)
- Reuse wrapping paper, plastic bags, boxes, and lumber. Gift wraps can be reuse, old woods and lumber can be refurbished and turn into diy furniture.
- Give outgrown clothing to friends or charity.
- A switch to reusable products such as traditional plates instead of paper ones. Glass cups instead of plastics. standard knives, spoon and forks instead of plastic wares, skip to disposable straws and so on.
- RECYCLE
Recycling, recovery and reprocessing of waste materials for use in new products.
- You can turn old clothes into fabrics for more useful item as table clothes, rags, etc.
- Kitchen scraps can be used as fertilizers for your plants.
- Or you can practice waste composting.
- Soda bottles along with used sachet inside can be turn into eco-bricks.
----------
To aid you on your Home Waste Management Journey you can also refer to some non-governmental organizations which can help address your concern on your solid waste sorted and collected.
Here are the links that may eventually help you:
By experience, I know that it takes a portion of your time to accomplish this great task. However, by doing so, we are reducing the amount of waste we sent to our landfills.
And this is a good start. Right at your very own HOME.
Nothing is too late to heal our ailing Mother Earth.
You can do it. We can do it.
And once you do it- YOU ARE ONE IN A MILLION.
How about you? Can you share how can you help reduce the use of plastic in your household?
Happy reading!
