JOURNAL #10-MINDLESS WASTE

FACT #10-The average college student produces 640 pounds of solid waste each year, including 500 disposable cups and 320 pounds of paper. At the current pace, we'll be generating 222 million tons of waste by the year 2000. Currently about 130 million tons of MSW ends up in landfills each year (NSWMA). In a recent survey of World Wastes subscribers, of those owning landfills, 53% expect their site to remain open 10+ years; 12% said 5 to 9 years; 7% reported 3 to 4 years and a whopping 26% said less than 3 years. It involves the use of composite liners and having an elaborate monitoring system. The costs of the regulations will result in a regionalized approach for volume-based business and a dramatic decrease of publicly owned facilities. Also specifies that landfill obtain an amount sufficient to close and cap the site and perform care and maintenance for 30 years after closure.
[source: www.green-networld.com]

The topic of my journal entry this week is mindless waste and I chose this topic because of two students in my Senior Seminar class. They live together and strive to live in harmony with the world and it's resources. In class last week, they were discussing their frustrations on trash days in their neighborhood because their neighbors throw away so much trash and they said that it would take them an entire MONTH to create one bag of trash, and even then, most of it could be recycled.

I was completely shocked by this fact because I live in a house with two other girls and we fill THREE large green trashcans with garbage WEEKLY! It's not that we don't care about the planet, but rather that we don't know how to change our lifestyles to better suit our future.

The best way to combat this issue would be to begin in the classroom! Though many items are marked with the recycle symbol, many are not and knowing what is recyclable and what is not is sometimes difficult. Being more mindful regarding recycling isn't the only problem though! Another problem is how wasteful many of us are with water.

Today my neighborhood thought it was a good idea

...to water the shrubs while it was raining.

It's problems like this that can be easily eradicated and aren't. Rain sensors are made for sprinklers and are affordable and easy to install. It's sad that an issue of this proportion can't be fixed. We see silly things like this so often but do nothing. For example, I could approach the homeowners association and request that they find said sensors, but instead, I'm blogging about my unhappiness.

Something I have learned in this class is that it is much easier to talk about a problem than find a solution. It always seems to be easier said than done-I think it's just a matter of figuring out what you can do and realizing that though it may not be possible to do it alone, there are plenty of other people to be recruited for the cause!

I found some helpful tips on how to be a bit smarter when it comes to water wasting!

INDOOR TRICKS

1. Dye Trick
Uncover a silent toilet leak by putting a few drops of food-coloring in the tank--if any color shows up in the bowl, you've got trouble. (See instructions here for fixing it.)

2. Drip Relief
A faucet dripping once per second does more than shred REM sleep: It wastes up to 3000 gal. a year. Most leaks can be fixed by replacing a washer. A cartridge faucet is slightly more complex--bring along the old cartridge when buying a new one.

3. Faucet Update
Check the flow rate of faucets with flow bags, which are available in "water audit" kits provided by many water utilities. It should be less than 2.2 gal. per minute (gpm) in the kitchen and 1.5 gpm in the bathroom. If it's time to upgrade, look for faucets with EPA's new WaterSense label.

4. Air Heads
To get a more forceful shower from a low-flow head, try this $55 Oxygenics model (top), which pressurizes the incoming water with air. Federal rules stipulate a flow of no more than 2.5 gpm; this achieves it without sacrificing comfort.

5. Portion Control
Run only full loads in washing machines and dishwashers--and don't pre-rinse dishes if you have a newer machine.

OUTDOOR TRICKS

1. Rain Barrel
Containers to collect rainwater date back 2000 years--and are just as useful today. Directing your downspout to a rain barrel will not only reduce runoff, but also provide water for your lawn and garden.

2.Beyond Shingles
Green roofs, incorporating vegetation, have begun to appear on single-family homes. Even those with sloped surfaces absorb about 45 percent of the rainfall in a 2-in. storm, and delay runoff of the rest for 45 minutes.

3. Acid Test
Determine the pH levels of your soil with a kit from your garden center. Once you figure out which nutrients your soil actually needs, you can stop applying unneeded chemicals that wash away.
[source:popularmechanics.com (you should check out the cool graphs!)]

I'm going to try my hardest to not only live by these examples, but also to not waste another day that could be spent encouraging others to follow the same path!