My Mom recently moved out of my childhood home and I helped her clear the house out. While going through my room, I got to reflect on what it was like being a kid in 90s and early 2000s. Besides dealing with a dial-up modem while trying to play Neopets, life was pretty good.
My room was filled with Pokémon cards, Game Boy's, Tech Deck's, and every other toy or gadget that made me a product of my time. While it was nice to go down memory lane, I very quickly came to a realization.
My toys will outlive me.
My first 18 years of consumption came crashing before my eyes. I couldn't believe how much crap I had accumulated over the years. All of the the plastics, all of the once nifty toys which now were e-waste would sit in a landfill for a longer time than I will be breathing on this planet.
Everything that had once been a burning desire was now just staring back at me passionless and ready for their trash can burial. I was disappointed, shocked, guilty, that I contributed so much to a landfill.
I was a product of my time - targeted TV ads and being lucky enough to have a family that would sometimes say yes to my pleas at a Toy's "Я" Us (RIP).
The Earth cannot sustain generation after generation of that lifestyle. According to the EPA, the average American consumer produces 4.4 pounds of garbage a day.
That is like having a chihuahua of garbage every day.
A Toddler of garbage every month
A Grizzly Bear, and a pup of garbage every year
Over a lifetime you will produce 8 T-Rex of trash...SCARY
Like the alcoholic who sees with clear eyes for the first time, I believe the first step to zero waste is admitting we have a problem. Looking at our lives and seeing the chihuahua's of trash we create everyday.
Here is a video we made hoping to highlight the first step of a Zero Waste World, admitting me we have a problem.
You have to listen to that burning feeling in the pit of your stomach that says "No more." If that is you, and you feel a pull inside, then let's walk that path my friend, let's take the first step together.