Rubbish Has No Value

Heather Roger claims our current garbage disposal methods are short term and etiquette. Rogers’s position is clear that we need to minimize the use of landfills and create better means to discard trash. In supporting Rogers’s environment views I think that we need to create a more economic and environmental friendly garbage disposal system. Heather Rogers and Lars Eighner both acknowledge the issue with society’s throwaway mentality. Eighner proves that we throw away perfectly working stuff, having survived off others discarded materials. Eighner argues against excessive waste we create but does not have any prospected solutions. Whereas Rogers acknowledges the obvious need to minimize our consumption of waste but argues the need

Recycling has been the environmental crusade to reducing the human footprint, with it’s spotlight shining down on in recent years. It was the noblest of causes, recycling being a great idea for the environment and society; but it is being handled poorly. Its modern descendant has turned into a corporate scheme with recycling becoming a business, instead of being about the environment because marketers are using environmentalism as a excuse for overconsumption, recycling products are only being recycled for profit, and cities & big business use inflated numbers to attain media attention. Let’s now take a look at the bread and butter of

Lars Eighner once found himself homeless, scavenging dumpsters for his next meal and looking for possessions that could benefit him in this difficult time. While on this journey, Eighner discovered how wasteful today’s society is when it comes to vital materials in life. In his article, “Dumpster Diving”, Eighner uses an informative tone to emphasize the fact that people take things for granted by wasting valuable items they could still benefit from. Eighner establishes his use of logos by emphasizing his view on wastefulness in today’s society.

A teacher once told me, “One mans trash is another mans treasure, what he doesn’t appreciate the next man will.” Until recently analyzing this statement I always pondered about it as a metaphor using the thoughts, and ideas of people, but after reading Garbology I have come up with a literal process of reusing trash. On average Americans wastes 220 million tons of waste generated each year in the United States which ends up in one of the over 3,500 landfills. According to Edward Humes, the author of Garbology, “Garbage has become one the most accurate measures of prosperity in the twenty-first-century America and the world,” which proves that trash is a means to improving the success rate of Americans. This reminds me of the words of Confucius who stated, “When a goal cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goal, adjust the action step” because with the knowledge from garbology we can

Wasting is something we’re all fond of doing; it has become a very popular issue in my city. Whether arising from lack of time to consume, or greed driven. The council is stopping land fill, and having household waste collected in groups i.e. Glass, metal, food waste, plastic and paper. This assures quick delivery to recycling plants to be materially

Trash is a book written by Andy Mulligan, the book is about three kids that work at a dumpsite. ‘Education is not helpful when you work at a dumpsite’. I want to back up this topic because it is true that education is not helpful when you work at a dumpsite because at a very young age they send children to pick up rubbish so education wouldn’t be helpful when you are picking up rubbish why? Because you will not use education while picking up rubbish.

Many individuals are accustomed to waste at least a portion of what they buy, whether it is food, clothes, furniture, supplies, or materials worldwide. According to the article: “On Dumpster Diving” many valuable items were found by the homeless who searched the dumpster for food. Surprisingly, they found useful items that helped them survive throughout each day. In fact, the products were worth for the exchange of money. At certain times, I myself may be considered to be a wasteful person during certain times such as, not finishing my drink and throwing more than half of it away. While rushing at work during break, this is a usual situation for many people Although, it isn't necessarily on purpose it is considered wasteful, valuable and influence advertising.

Recycled trash is just as amazing as fine art. Many artists including Marcel Duchamp doubted what could be used to create wonderful art in the 1900s. Artwork’s value depends on how an artist’s looks at his art. Trash, nature, and everyday items can be created to make loved and fascinating art.

In Matt Porter’s video, “Freegans: Creative Living Outside of Capitalism” a gentleman states, “Our waste can feed a nation.” In this case, some of America’s waste is feeding the scavengers. Homelessness can lead to dumpster diving for a means of survival. These people dig through thrown out items that can still be eaten and used. One man’s discarded garbage, in turn, can become another man’s lifeline. “Almost everything I have now has already been cast out at least once, proving that what I own is valueless to someone,” (362) Eighner confessed about some of the treasures he has gathered from dumpster diving. Because the general public missuses its resources, dumpster finds are either used for personal gain, such as eating, or they will be

The growth of consumption has caused a large increase in rubbish. This is due to people having more choice when out shopping. Many years ago women stayed at home and men went to work but now that both men and women are out earning there is a lot more disposable income which ends with people buying luxuries and upgrading items they already have. This results in the old ones being thrown away. People are constantly upgrading and renewing items to better models. Mobile phones bring out new models every year which people feel the need to buy to keep up with the trend and because they want the newest gadgets on the street. Pcs have changed to laptops which gives the pc no home except out to be collected on bin day. This causes a problem

Preview of Main Points: First, I will explain the problem with not recycling. Next, the causes of the not recycling. Last, the solution and what we can do.

Another argument which can be used to demonstrate the value of rubbish is with regards to environmental concerns. In recent years, rubbish has been placed into landfill sites, where the items of waste can take hundreds of years to degrade, or disposed of in incinerators, thereby releasing harmful gases into the Earth’s atmosphere. However, in understanding the value of our environment we can revalue this rubbish, we see it not as something to be simply discarded, but to be reused and recycled. Between April 2010 and March 2011, the rate of recycling in England increased to an all-time-high of 41.2% (The Guardian, 2011); this suggests that although not all rubbish is considered valuable by everyone, the level of value we attach to rubbish is on the rise due to the increase in importance that we are attributing to our environment. Perhaps at a time when we, as a global community, are recycling one hundred percent of our waste it would be possible to say that the statement, ‘rubbish has no value,’ is completely inaccurate.

Chapter 15 of Adam Minter’s Junkyard Planet showcases the difference and the confusion that a consumer may come across based on our “ sustainable “ habits. Ultimately, he captivates readers minds and hearts to persuade us to think before consuming for the benefit of our economy and futuristic planet. He here fosters a close relationship with everyone dragged by the same wave, consumption. He proves to us how we have come to rely on recycling bins and other countries to take in our junk. Minter’s hinders a question to provoke thought, if we did not have any recycling procedures would we be living on Junkyard Planet?

There are some reasons for the problem. The first reason is that the effects of the thrown rubbish are very dangerous and extremely harmful. According to Miller (1987), global industrial organizations produce over 80,000 different chemicals (para. 5). Basically, garbage is old, dirty and wet, so that it is a perfect place for bacteria and other viruses to stay in. Rubbish growth in cities has been a problem all over the world for centuries. Landfills have always been regarded as sources of illnesses and unpleasant smells. The harmful wastes from the garbage spread through the ground from paint, chemicals, petrol, batteries, and other toxic materials that have been thrown away into the garbage. The toxic chemicals get into the water pipes and spread through the people’s drinking water. Another reason of that problem is that people have created all these disasters, which are connected with environmental pollution. The more modern technologies are created, the more unbelievable become wastes and remains of what is produced. From this, man is responsible for what he or she created and for the following consequences. Anxieties about the environment have made people more aware of their environmental footprints or the kind of waste they leave behind during their existence. The difficulty is that an average person leaves an incredible amount of wastes in his or her lifetime. According to Lovejoy (1912), all biodegradable substances, contained in

My main concern about waste disposal is toward poverty. In every society, for it to work effectively the waste disposal has to be handled properly. The lack of proper waste disposal can contribute for the underdevelopment of the community. For instance, in poorer community that does not have resources to dispose of the trash properly create a series of problems. For example, when there are a lot of trashes in a community, it will prevent investors to invest in a community, the housing market, schools and stores will decline, in consequence the houses will loose its value. This will create a ripple effect because people will start immigrating toward a better place where it is much cleaner. Families will try to move to a better place where their kids can have a better future. I ask myself who wants to live in a dirty environment? I hope nobody. That’s why I believe that the government should help the poorest communities about the ways to handle waste disposal, and better educate them about recycling.