Waste Collection and Evaluation 2

Start Date of Trash Collection: 28 January 2017

End Date of Trash Collection: 10 February 2017

(Photo taken at 9.00pm on 10 Feburary after 2 weeks of trash collection)

Total Trash Collected after 2 weeks

Average amount of trash collected in a day

After another 2 weeks of trash collection, I am happy to see that I was able to significantly reduce the amount of waste that I produce after adopting new habits such as recycling plastic bottles that I get and by switching to environmentally-friendly alternatives such as by using a handkerchief instead of tissue paper. During this 2 weeks of trash collection, I became more aware of the things that I was purchasing or buying as well as a simple act of buying a takeaway meal can result in the production of a lot of waste. Initially, when I adopted some positive habits such as carrying a tumbler water bottle around to use when I buy drinks, I felt quite uncomfortable using it as I had to ask store owners to use my bottle to fill up drinks which I felt awkward doing. However after the 2 weeks, I had gotten use to using the tumbler water bottler and knowing that I have reduced the waste I produce by using this alternative made me happy.

Even though this journey to a zero waste lifestyle that I have embarked on was for an assignment, I was able to learn a lot about waste management as I have never actually taken note of the amount of waste that I produce in a day which this project has helped me to find out. Furthermore, the project allowed me to research on and find out about the harm different types of waste can bring to the environment and the environmentally-friendly substitute products that I can adopt into my life to reduce the waste I produce. Lastly, even though my assignment has ended, I will continue to make an effort in reducing my trash production by keeping positive recycling habits and by switching to environmentally-friendly products and alternatives as I believe that we are responsible for the waste that we produce.

Alternatives to tissue paper products and 'Tissue Issue' Social Movement

Tissue paper and paper towels are one of the type of trash that I generated the most during my 2 weeks of trash collection. On average, the earth produces 254 million tons of trash that results from discarded paper towels every year. Furthermore, 51, 000 trees are cut down and used every day to meet the number of paper towels that are needed. This shows that paper towels contribute to a significant amount of waste that the world produce and hence, we should make an effort to reduce the production of this waste as the manufacturing of paper towels requires a lot of timber that are cut down from wildlife habitats which causes animals to lose their homes. The production of paper towels and tissue paper contribute to air and water pollution during the manufacturing and transportation process, making it very harmful towards the environment. Lastly, when paper towels and tissue paper are thrown away after use, they take up a lot of landfill space. Hence I have researched about a few alternatives that I can implement in my life to reduce the production of tissue paper waste (The Paperless Project, n.d.)

The first alternatives that I will use will be reusable towels. Paper towels and tissue paper are non-recyclable and hence, it is very wasteful to use them as a single paper towel will be discarded immediately after use which results in the waste of resources that are poured into manufacturing the tissue paper. In comparison, reusable towels can be used at homes as a substitute for drying hands and washing up over and over again. Hence, no waste is produced making it environmentally friendly (trash is for tossers, 2013).

The second alternative to tissue paper products will be handkerchiefs. Tissue paper often come in small packets which makes it very easy to carry around to use and to dispose of afterwards. Thus, the handkerchief will be a good replacement as it is reusable, easy to carry around and it can be used for many purposes such as wiping off sweat or cleaning your mouth. Some people might find it unhygienic to use the handkerchief over and over again for repeated use. The solution to this will be to fold the handkerchief nicely and use the different sides. I do carry a handkerchief around with me sometimes but I am more used to using tissue paper. Hence I will make an effort to carry a handkerchief around with me more often and use it to reduce the amount of tissue paper waste I produce (Czinski, 2009).

It might be difficult to stop using tissue paper products immediately so a recommendation I have will be to use 100% recycled tissue paper products instead of normal tissue paper products if you are uncomfortable switching over to other alternatives immediately. The recycle tissue paper not only provides a second use for recycle paper materials but also maximize the life of paper fiber as paper fibers in the tissue paper can only be recycled a few times. Hence 100% recycled tissue paper products will also be a good alternative to normal tissue paper product as it is more environmentally-friendly (Czinski, 2009).

A social movement that I would like to start will be the ‘Tissue Issue’ Social Movement. In this social movement, I will set up a website that will explain the harmful effects of tissue paper products on the environment and the possible alternatives that someone can easily adopt into his or her life. I will also add in a pledge section where people who visit my website can pledge to reduce their waste produced from tissue paper so that I can evaluate the effectiveness of my social movement by observing the number of people who pledge to reduce their tissue paper waste. Furthermore, I would also talk to my friends and family members about my social movement through the word-of-mouth so that they can understand the harmful effects of tissue paper and adopt more environmentally-friendly alternatives and spread the social movement to others. 

(Handkerchiefs alternatives I will use from now on)

References

Czinski, R. (2009). Soft Tissue Paper is Hard on the Environment. Simple Ecology. Retrieved

from http://www.simpleecology.com/eco/soft-tissue-paper

The Paperless Project. (n.d.). How to Reduce Your Paper Towel Use. Retrieved from

http://www.thepaperlessproject.com/how-to-reduce-your-paper-towel-use/

trash is for tossers. (2013). Zero Waste Alternatives: The Ultimate List. Retrieved from

http://www.trashisfortossers.com/2013/08/zero-waste-alternatives-ultimate-list.html

Alternatives for food packaging

From my 2 weeks of trash collection, I found that food packaging was one of my top 3 waste that I produced. In addition, a study done has showed that in Singapore, food packaging accounts for up to 11% of the 766, 800 tonnes of plastic waste produced. Furthermore, food packaging makes up 14% of 588, 500 tonnes of paper and cardboard waste. In total, Singapore has produced 3.02 million tonnes of food packaging waste in 2015 which raises concern as a lot of waste is being produced from food packaging alone (Choo, 2016). But how is food packaging harmful to the environment?

Firstly, food packaging are usually made from plastic which is non-biodegradable. Hence, when these food packaging are thrown away, they will remain on the earth for a long period of time and leech harmful chemicals into the soil which would pollute the land and even groundwater storage. Secondly, when plastic food packaging are thrown away, they might be washed off into oceans and water bodies. Marine animals might then mistake the food packaging as food and ingest them causing the marine animals to become poisoned, fall ill and even die. Lastly, 4% of the world’s oil production has been used to manufacture plastic while another 4% is used to produce energy needed to make the plastic. Hence when these plastic food packaging are thrown away, the resources poured into the manufacturing of these food packaging will also be wasted (Knoblauch, 2009).

So what are some alternatives that we can use instead of the common plastic food packaging?

Firstly, we have glass jars which is an environmentally-friendly product that has many similar properties to plastic containers. The different sizes of glass jars that are available can be used to store different types of food in places such as the fridge and cupboard making it very convenient and easy to use. Furthermore, some glass can create an airtight environment to store certain types of food better. Glass jars are better than plastic containers as plastic containers are made up of many different chemicals. Hence, when plastic containers are used for an extended period of time, the plastic starts to wear and tear which might result in the leaching of harmful chemicals into food causing health issues. Plastic containers are often non-recyclable as well unlike glass jars which means that once thrown away, they will stay on the earth for a long period of time and pollute the soil and oceans (Badore, 2015; Sustainable baby steps, n.d.a.; Sustainable baby steps, n.d.c.). Hence, I plan to start using glass jars and containers instead of plastic containers to store some of the food I have in my house as it is more environmentally friendly. Furthermore, I will use the plastic containers that have been replaced by glass jars and containers to store other things in my house such as stationary to make full use of the plastic container instead of throwing it away.

Secondly, when buying takeaway food, a lot of plastic will be given such as the plastic container to store food and plastic utensils. All these plastic food packaging that are given when buying takeaway are very harmful to the environment as they will be disposed of immediately after use and contribute to the plastic waste produced in Singapore. Hence, an alternative that we can use will be stainless steel containers. Stainless steel containers are lightweight and reusable which makes it easy for everyone to carry around making it a good alternative to use when buying takeaway to eliminate the plastic waste generated. Stainless steel containers can also be used to store food at home in cupboards of fridges making it a multi-use product. Hence, I will make the effort to bring a stainless steel container as a lunchbox when buying takeaway in the future to reduce the amount of plastic waste I produce (Sustainable baby steps, n.d.a.; Sustainable baby steps, n.d.b.).

Lastly, compostable food packaging and utensils can substitute plastic food packaging. Products such as bamboo lunchboxes which are compostable food boxes are ideal for storing various kinds of food and the lunchbox can undergo composting after use. These lunchboxes are made from renewable resources which makes it a better alternative compared to oil-based plastic lunchboxes as the process of making these lunchboxes are not harmful to the environment. Compostable bags are also available in the market for use to wrap food and package food items. These food bags can then be recycled to collect kitchen waste after use and can be added to the compost bin to become compost. These products can be easily purchased online from companies such as Eco Lunchbox which is a company that aims to reduce the usage of plastic as it is harmful for the earth. I intend to buy these food bags for use as well to be used as an alternative for plastic wrap as I make sandwiches quite often and use plastic wrap to package the sandwiches. Hence by using the food bags that are compostable, I will be able to reduce the waste from using plastic wraps (Eco Lunchbox, n.d.; Pullen, n.d.).

Left Image taken from Eco Lunchbox; Right Image taken from greenhome

(Left: Lunchbox I can use when buying takeaways; Right: Compostable food bag alternative to wrap food instead of plastic wrap)

References

Badore, M. (2015, March). 11 easy ways to reduce your plastic waste today. Treehugger.

Retrieved from http://www.treehugger.com/green-home/11-easy-ways-reduce-your-plastic-waste-today.html

Choo, F. (2016, August 26). NEA to study impact of takeaway packages. The Straits Times.

Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/nea-to-study-impact-of-takeaway-packages

Eco Lunchbox. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ecolunchboxes.com/

Knoblauch, J. A. (2009, July 2). The environmental toll of plastics. Environmental Health News.

Retrieved from http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/dangers-of-plastic

Pullen, K. (n.d.). Compostable Food Packaging. Lovetoknow. Retrieved from

http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Compostable_Food_Packaging

Sustainable baby steps. (n.d.a). 35+ Alternatives to Plastic Items in Your Home. Retrieved from

http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/alternatives-to-plastic.html

Sustainable baby steps. (n.d.b). Sustainable and Healthy Kids’ Lunchbox Ideas. Retrieved from

http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/lunchbox-ideas.html

Sustainable baby steps. (n.d.c). The Dangers of and 3 Alternatives to Plastic Food Storage

Containers. Retrieved from http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/plastic-food-storage-containers.html