Welcome to another Trash Talking Friday, the only trash talk that is being used as a vaccine to change mindsets!
Each week, I send you Ideas to ponder about. Ideas that have the potential to change your life, and hopefully help you become a better human being by understanding yourself.
This week, the Trash Talking News Letter returns to your inbox after a prolonged absence, so to start off I would like to revisit one of the most basis yet essential elements of managing your waste; segregation!
Let’s get into it!
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Waste Segregation Tool Kit:
The origin of the Word “Segregate” is explained below as mentioned online in the etymology dictionary
“1540s, from Latin segregatus, past participle of segregare “set apart, lay aside; isolate; divide,” literally “separate from the flock,” from *se gregare, from se “apart from” (see secret (n.)) + grege, ablative of grex “herd, flock” (from PIE root *ger- “to gather”).
Originally often with reference to the religious notion of separating the flock of the godly from sinners. In modern social context, “to force or enforce racial separation and exclusion,” 1908. Related: Segregated; segregating.”
Now that you have a brief about the origin of the word in its historical context, let’s explore how it applies to managing your waste. To understand how to properly segregate your waste, we must first understand the general categories of waste that we generate in our households on a daily basis. This will not only assist us to understand the segregation process, but also help reduce the amount of waste we dispose.
Different types of waste generated at a household level:
1. Organic: Most people think of organic waste simply as food waste, that ends up in our dustbins or in our backyard composter. But food waste can also be segregated and divided into different categories as mentioned below:
a. Fruits & vegetables and other staple and FMGC food items that rot due to improper storage or not consuming them or have to be disposed of as they have reached their expiry date. (Both raw & cooked food)
b. Food waste generated at the time of preparation for consumption. Example would include, peels of onions, apples, oranges, egg shells ect.
c. Post consumption food waste: This would include left overs on our plate, which are disposed in most cases directly into the bin.
2. Packaging: Various types of packaging waste is generated at household level as a result of our consumption habits. Some of the most common packaging found at the household level are:
a. Plastic packaging: From shampoo bottles, cooking oil containers, take away food containers, poly bags, bubble wrap, protective casing and wrapping found on various products such as batteries, soaps etc. PET bottles, cosmetics and cleaning product packaging, bin liners, milk pouches, raw meat products related wrapping
b. MLP: Multi Layered Packaging: Wafer packaging, packaging which contains items such as Haldiram snacks etc.
c. Terra Packs: Milk, juice containers etc.
d. Cardboard/Paper: Mostly from online shopping for various products & from food delivery, newspaper, envelops and A 4 size paper
e. Bio-degradable plastic: take put food containers, bin liners, disposable single use cutlery
f. Tape: Use to secure products and or packaging. Found mostly on the outside of cardboard and take away food containers.
g. Aluminum & Tin: Cans, medicine packaging (aluminum), empty containers of oil and tinned food, deodorants and shaving cream containers (aluminum and tin), insect & mosquito product packaging (tin or aluminum)
h. Glass: Empty alcohol bottles, cosmetic containers, cooking oil bottles, body oil bottles, empty jars (Pickles, Trail mix etc)
3. Plastics: Besides the ones mentioned above that fall under the category of packaging, items such as broken buckets, mugs, flower pots, hose pipes, sanatory pipes, dustbins etc are also generated at a household level.
4. Metals: Besides the packaging materials mentioned above, households also generate items such as metal hangers from drycleaners, aluminum and house metal waste from renovation work, discarded utensils such as frying pans, spoons and other such cutlery, old furniture
5. Batteries: AA, AAA, battries used in remotes & other electrical equipment.
6. E-waste: Wires, chargers, old landline phones, defunct electrical items such as hair dryers, irons, water heaters, room heaters, old TV’s and music systems, old 2G cell phones, kitchen equipment such as oven’s, mixer grinders, microwave, old electrical fuses, washing machines and refrigerators
7. Glass: Mostly a mix of broken glass from various sources
8. Wood: Mostly replacement or broken furniture
9. Hazardous waste: Battries, soiled baby and adult diapers, used cooking oil, single use masks and other protective wear, old school mercury thermometers, expired medicines
So there you go, when you think about it and see it written down on a piece of paper, the list is exhaustive! So what can you do with the information mentioned above? For starters, you can start setting up a proper system of segregation at home. The infraction above will not only help you reduce your waste foot print, but will also help you save money! How? Keep reading!
The process of Segregation: Though the list is exhaustive, segregation is actually easier than you think. What needs to be done is for you to break down all the items mentioned above in broad categories as mentioned below:
1. Organics: the first step towards segregating food waste is to go through your kitchen and fridge to figure out what is about to expire or go bad. Consume that first and if you can’t then donate it to a food bank or to the needy. Post going through this exercise follow the following steps:
a. Before disposing check to see if some of the items can be reused or plated in pots.
b. When disposing organic waste in your dustbin, do not use a bin liner, it just creates unnecessary waste.
c. Compost your food waste at home. There are many great home composters available in the market today
d. If you are not composting at home, then simply empty the organic waste out into the garbage collection vehicle. Wash your dustbin and repeat the process
2. Plastics: You can mix different types of plastic and store it together. Special consideration must be given when disposing the following plastic waste in bins.
a. Empty containers that may have remnants of food in them must be cleaned and disposed
b. Empty milk pouches must be washed and then disposed
c. To make room in your bin crush the plastic bottles. Not only does this make more space, it also ensures that the bottles cannot be reused again for the purpose of selling adulterated liquids for consumption.
d. MLP can be disposed of along with your general plastic waste
3. Cardboard: Paper & Tetra packs: Observe the following to store cardboard, tetra packs and paper prior to disposal:
a. Break the cardboard down and flatten it so that it can be easily stored
b. Flatten the newspapers out and stock them one on top of the other. You may use something to tie them together to make a small bundle
c. Tetra packs: remove the cap, ring and cut the plastic mouth on the top. Dispose these off in plastic. Rinse the tetra pack container out and then crush it before disposing it.
4. Metals: You can mix all your metals in one container. To make room in it, ensure that you crush the aluminum cans and compress the metal hangers with your hands prior to disposal. Discarded utensils or larger items can be put into a cardboard box. Insure the following for tin & aluminum products:
a. Rinse tin and aluminum cans out thoroughly before disposal to ensure that there are no remnants of food left in them
5. Batteries & E-waste: E-waste and batteries can be mixed together and should be handed over to the waste collector in a sealed or enclosed bag
6. Glass: Bottles can be staked in a cardboard box, broken glass must be put in a double bag or put in a cardboard box to ensure the safety of the garbage collector. Use clear bags where possible so that the contents are visible.
7. Hazardous waste: Hazardous waste such as PPE kits and face masks, diapers, should always be disposed in a lined bin. The bin liner should be clear in color so that its contents are clearly visible and should be sealed and handed over to the garbage collector.
The above information does not mean that you need seven bins at your home. In essence, all that you require is a three-bin system as mentioned below:
1. Organics
2. Plastic
3. Hazardous
Everything else can be simply stored in cardboard boxes as mentioned above. That said, if you have the space, you can always add a bin or two for e-waste & broken glass. The process of segregating your waste solely depends on the amount of effort that you want to put into it, like everything else in life, but segregate your waste you must.
Caution: You may be wondering why I left out Bio-degradable plastic from this mix? The reason behind this is that it cannot be recycled nor can be composted in your backyard composter. In order for it to be processed, it needs industrial composting units where its broken down under a controlled environment and such units are far and few in our country. So, what ends up happening with bio-plastic or compostable plastic is that it ends up mostly in the landfill or in a waste to energy plant where its burnt.
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Have a fabulously sustainable week, and see you in your inbox on Friday!