In our world waste management is the biggest problem which is increasing global warming. Every day tons of waste is generated. If this continues then our world will no longer keep us giving the resources. It needs to be fixed as fast as possible. Here are some solutions that all households can apply easily to reduce waste and take steps towards protecting our world. We can apply these steps to manage our waste properly and reduce it. If we want it to be long-lasting then we can share the procedure or ideas with people around you.
Let’s look at the causes of the problem:
1. Many people are not aware of what is going to happen if they are not managing waste properly at home. Homes are the major source of solid waste. Some of them are (plastics, cans, metals, papers,etc.) This waste is very dangerous when it spreads. It goes and mixes into all our fresh resources like water, air and soil and will make it very toxic. Then our whole earth will become lifeless. When the rain comes all the waste flows into water bodies and also it gets dumped in soil and spoils groundwater. When it mixes in water it kills all the marine life. When the sunlight falls on this waste it gets melt and evaporates into the air which affects the climate. When climate change it creates many problems and imbalances the lifestyle of Living beings.
2. People don’t think before throwing things like garbage. Because of this, they lose things which can be recycled and reused.
The ideas I show below will help you to apply these in your daily life to reduce waste.
1. Recycle : using old materials to make something new of it.when we continue this it avoids to buy more things and reduce the waste.
One of the things we can make is Vermicompost
Procedure to make it:
1. Gather all the peels and waste of vegetables in a bottle.
2. Put some water in it and keep it for 2 to 3 days and keep opening its top and closing to avoid the formation of gas in it.
3.Repair: Restoring something which is damaged. When we repair something and use it then our waste will not increase. MY this bag was torn from the bottom so instead of throwing it out, I took help from my sister and decorate it to join the torn out part.
3. Reduce: Buy some things which are necessary and which has less packing and try to donate things instead of throwing.
If we have lots of toys or containers then I will ask my neighbour if they need or donate it to the poor.
4.Reuse: Many things we are using at home can get used again instead of buying new. Example: Growing mint leaves at home, reusing its stem.
Procedure to grow mint leaves:
Take the stems of mint leaves and put it in the soil with its roots. Put water in it every day, and keep it in sunlight.
5. Rethink: Before throwing things and buying, Rethink - Is it necessary? and also before throwing into garbage think once, Can it be used?
It is also very important to think where we are throwing our waste because if we throw it on the streets, it will get mixed with different things like water and make it toxic.
Example: Before throwing carton boxes, I made a cupboard out of it.
6. Refuse: Always refuse the things which are not necessary and can increase a lot of waste and are harmful to our environment.
I have bought it to eat and after eating the biscuits in it, I had to throw it, so we should refuse to take things like this. Eg: plastic containers, covers, etc.
Other examples:
This was the bottle I bought and after using it the top of the bottle got lost so should I throw it? No, instead of throwing it I have used it to decorate my house by putting flowers in it.
When we follow these steps and make fertilizers, use waste to decorate homes and try to use waste in different ways instead of throwing, it will help to reduce the amount of waste each house is producing. Also if we continue doing this we can also make money by selling things like fertilizers etc. After this, there will be very less garbage produced in our world than it will be easy for people who manage waste to manage it properly instead of landfilling, burning, dumping.
Our earth will then be safe from all these things.
Huda Sultana, Teach for India Student
Grade 9, Madina Mission High School ,
Jhanauma Hyderabad