Our ability on this planet to deal with the unimaginable garbage we produce will require a different mindset. I don’t like the idea that solutions to problems are so great that they are “out of our hands”. You will see that as a recurring theme in my writing. We have power within us to create change. We have just been increasingly conditioned to believe that we don’t!

Waste is a result of our mindset

This issue is global, but particularly in affluent Western society, a throwaway mindset has developed over several generations. Our grandparents or great-grandparents who lived through the Great Depression would shudder at the waste mentality. They hoped we would live a better life, and yes we do. Or do we? Look where it has taken us.

Every problem has a root cause. Waste starts at home. It begins with gross consumerism and an instant gratification mentality. And, that we need things to make us happy. There is a vast internal void in humanity, represented by the wasteland of junk in our garbage dumps. Did you know that recycling (at least in its current rendition) cannot keep up? (See two articles below.) It is right there in front of us! How can we miss it?

Re-evaluating our core values

Consider this as a takeaway today: In what ways are the core values that we embrace as a “good way of life” and “success as a human being” contributing to the global problem of waste? We can blame large corporations (and yes, they play their part). But as long as we feed our own insatiable need for “stuff”, we will be faced with this dragon.

Two good recent blog articles about the changing face of recycling:

America has a recycling problem. Here’s how to solve it.
The problem of recycling and the key to moving beyond it

Respect Earth | She needs us © Susan L Hart 2019 | Hart Haiku