2020 Pandemic response meant reduced human activity & presence, which let Earth recuperate. Animals were roaming freely & plants were growing in abandoned places. But human response saw increased usage in one-time plastics and other things which became thrash after one-time usage. Like PPE masks, gloves and plastic bags.
Cloth masks with their use-n-wash & reuse again are cool alternatives to the use-n-throw blue masks. But there are other aspects which got left behind and should not be forgotten.
Individual actions
Shopping Bags
* Got the repeat-use thylas/jhoola/bags to cut down the one-time usage plastic-bags taking up all of the under-sink cabinet space.
* Canvas bags for heavy duty grocery from Indian stores. Lighter fancy ones for Target, Aldi & others.
* Have multiple bags in the car trunk. Once we haul groceries home, we are generally too tired to put them promptly back for next shopping trip.
* Lockdown times was bit unsure about carrying personal bags to public stores. Most stores asked me to bag items on my own, which is fine. And for some that I was unsure, I left the bag in trunk & got groceries in the cart to the car, like the usual shopping in Costco/Sams.
* Saved all the time from sorting bags to dump in designated spots. Saved space at home otherwise littered with plastic bags.
Purple mesh bags are purple onion bags from Costco/Sams. They are in great shape to use as is. White strip of labels need to be cut off; else the bar-code interferes with the cashiers scanning. In pre-pandemic world, got compliments from atleast 5 fellow shoppers. But I stopped using it on 2020 & am slowly getting back to it.
My COMPOSTING adventure.
* Got the black composting bin from City. I know a lot are available on Amazon. It’s placed in the backyard, close to veggie patch.
* This winter I put up a bin on deck for a stop-gap arrangement. Filled it on daily basis and when snow melted on the path to outside bin, emptied it to larger bin. Our thrash-bag output is reduced to 1-2 per week.
* Organic waste in in bags in the large bin, coz makes it easier to move the black-gold to the veggies patch. I got tired of shoveling it from the floor one summer.
* Earthworms - I never bought any. Only the ones we found while digging for regular garden work - those went in the organic waste bags.
* Smell is not a problem. In winter it’s all frozen. After defrost any smell is locked inside the bin. Once it turns black gold, there is no smell at all; just a hint of Mango & pineapples.
* More composting tips here: https://recycleminnesota.org/work/compost-bins-rain-barrels/
Gardening tips:
* Rice & dal washed water straight to plants will yields immediate flowers.
* Put banana peels (minus the end hard parts) & egg shells in blender & purée with water. Put it straight to potted plants or veggie patch. Heard the same with potato peels, but haven’t tried it.
* Tidy cats boxes make great containers for veggie plants. I borrowed from a neighbor & planted creepers ( watermelon & butternut squash) & Malabar spinach. (White paint box container garden pic from Gardening FB group). The creepers would stay clean away from soil and I could move the containers anywhere I liked for sun.
Political muscle
Individual actions to recycle & reuse will improve that family’s lifestyle quality. But without support from infrastructure, even the best intentions see limited action.
* Toronto & Bengaluru have city collection systems for separated organic waste; which all goes to a central composting facility.
* Meanwhile entire Texas state does not have recycle at any spot. Imagine the amount of landfill being used just by plastic & paper.
However, individuals act is limited by political guidance. Hence it's important to influence or be involved in the political direction of the city, state & country.
This article captures this relationship in detail: “....without strict laws to curb carbon emissions, no individual’s choices matter all that much. For them, the most important action is political — to try to change the direction of national and global policies....”
Likewise, once the world is back on its feet, I hope there are more measures strengthening & improving all aspects of these, while reducing burden on the environment.
- medical waste disposal
- landfill
- PPE manufacturing
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