Garbage, waste, rubbish, there are many words for it.  That unwanted material; whatever it may be, that every day we “throw away.”  But, what does throw away mean? Do we throw it over our shoulder and it disappears? 

Living in a First World Country, that’s kind of what it’s like.  Although we carry that big plastic bag to the curb ourselves; once the garbage truck comes and transports it away, for us it’s out of sight, out of mind.

If only it were that simple.

In Canada, our leftover garbage goes to the landfill. Canada ranks among the highest producers of solid waste per capita in all of the industrialized world*. Not only do landfills or ‘dumps’ take up great chunks of our Canadian landscape (that beautiful landscape we call home!) they also cause other environmental problems. 

When it rains, the water leaches harmful chemicals from the waste into the soil, polluting the groundwater.

They off-gas, causing an excess of greenhouse gases out into the atmosphere, and sometimes poisonous chemical gases.

These gases and polluted rainwater can continue on for almost 30 years after a landfill has been closed.

So, what can we do about decreasing the amount of waste we contribute to the landfills in the first place?

That’s when the 3 R’s come in to play. 

Reduce.  Buy less, with less packaging.  Buy quality over quantity. 

Reuse.  Buy used.  Buy reusable items and use them again and again.  Donate what you don’t want.

Recycle.  Keep reusable glass, plastic, metals and paper out of the landfills.  Products that contain recycled materials save on the earth’s resources.  Plastic products made into t-shirts and bags; glass products made into glass tiles and containers; steel products made into bicycles and cars.

Some things to ponder:  

• Aluminum cans take from 200-500 years to biodegrade.
   
• Styrofoam is non-biodegradable (yeah, that means never).
   
• If Queen Elizabeth the 1st, born in 1558, threw out a plastic water bottle every day until her death, you would still be able to find some of those water bottles around today!
   

* Environment Canada http://www.nwri.ca/threatsfull/ch12-1-e.html