30 days no trash is a project/challenge I created and did to raise awareness of the trash crisis. To learn more about this project, check out this post:
https://tigershakti.org/2023/06/14/30-days-no-trash-challenge/
What is the trash crisis?
2 billion tons or 4.5 trillion pounds of trash are produced globally every year. This trash leaks greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, and is the third largest methane producer in the US (Clifford, 2021). The U.S. creates the most waste out of all the countries in the world, with the average American throwing away around 5 pounds a day. By 2050, it is estimated that there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans (HWH environmental, 2022). Almost every aspect of our lives creates waste. It takes 872 gallons of water to just produce 1 gallon of wine (Christie, 2018).
What can be done about it?
Evidently, we need to find a way to deal with this increasing amount of trash, and one of those solutions is recycling and composting. Recycling trash is actually cheaper than sending waste to a landfill, with a cost of $30 a ton to recycle trash and $50 a ton to send trash to a landfill. The average American throws away 1200 pounds of trash that is compostable every year (HWH environmental, 2022). Composting tackles two problems in our society – it provides a use for food waste, and it makes nutritious soil that can be used to grow organic, healthy food. Also, if farmers use compost to feed their plants instead of chemical fertilizers that degrade soil and pollute water, that is a win-win-win.
Composting can be done at home! You can collect your food scraps and either donate them to your local farmer, or you can create your own compost bin in your backyard!
Being environmentally responsible does not have to mean strictly creating zero waste for a month, it can mean doing small things everyday to make a difference.
Tiger Shakti 