ZERO WASTE
ZERO WASTE
I became aware of the Zero Waste movement late last year, 2017, as a culmination of my research into minimalism and veganism. Now, I am still not fully a vegan yet, I wouldn't call myself one as my steps towards that is painfully slow, and I am certainly not a minimalist in any sense of the word. But zero waste struck me as something much more fundamental than just living with few belongings.
It is activism, pure and simple. Zero Waste is activism.
In my society (northern western) the extreme consumerism is still meeting and clashing with the old mindset of "waste not want not". Norway has, in historical terms, quite recently become a very rich country. But we don't have to look further back than our parents' generation to see a very different lifestyle and mindset. They were hard workers and farmers, they made do. They saved food, they repaired items and a good thing to own was something that was made to last. Now fast forward to our day and age where food is thrown out because it looks "funky" and it is normal to buy new clothes every month; our way of life has changed drastically. There is a chase on. Young people today feel forced to get the best education and the highest paying jobs (which, of course, there aren't enough of to go around) in order to pay for this lifestyle that is expected of them(selves). From every angle we are bombarded with the idea that if we don't spend enough money on stuff (or travels) we are poor, we are lesser, we're missing out on life. So we spend our life, this one precious shot we have at it, chasings education and careers in order to earn enough money to buy stuff.
No wonder we're seeing a backlash. No wonder decluttering and minimalism is trending. People need freedom to grow, and right now consumerism is (excuse me for this one) consuming us as well.
Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong in aspiring to a good career, as long as it is the one you want. And there is absolutely nothing wrong in wanting nice things in ones life. Especially if you've grown up poor and lacking things other people have taken for granted. There are also many people who take pride and joy in collecting certain things be it games, books, memorabilia, trips abroad etc. I am not really talking about that kind of stuff. I am talking about the commercials that tells us that we're less if we don't own something. I am talking about trendsetters who show giant hauls of stuff on youtube every month. I am talking about this idea that the amount you're able to buy is equal to the amount you're worth in our society. Now, the every day joe knows that this isn't true. You wouldn't ditch your friend if they weren't able to spend money while you're out shopping. That would be absurd. And you know that people wouldn't even really notice if you wore the same sweat three times that week. So where is all this coming from then?
Capitalism (as it has morphed into today) would be the easy answer. And now we're getting to the crust of the problem.
Wanting stuff isn't bad in and of itself. But the people who are trying to sell these things to you they want to create as much as possible at the smallest cost. Factories move out of country because it is cheaper, and with them goes all the workspaces. The country they move to might not have as strict laws concerning their worker's safety, and now they are expoiting people. They're drawing resources out of a country that has nothing to give in order to create crappy little plastic things or poor quality clothing which can be sold enmasse. They're all designed to break so you have to buy new in a short period of time. These things that break and are thrown out are usually not recyclable, plastic that won't rot, that will end up in our oceans and in landfills killing wildlife.
It is important to have concumerism in order to have a working economy. If nobody buys anything then the people whose job it is to make and sell them won't earn anything either. We have seen this before when crashes has made people scared and they've stopped buying. It is an evil circle. But right now people need to learn and they need to listen. There has to be a change. This wild consumerism is not healthy. Not to our peace of mind and certainly not for our planet. The only one we got. We throw away enough food to feed the world and yet children are dying right now. Have you ever been really, really hungry? Of course you have. But you survived it. Not everyone are as lucky.
Now, it isn't exactly plausible that we're going to save the world by not buying plastic straws.
But it certainly leaves a message. Civil disobedience. We're not following this world order any longer. We want things to change. But first we have to change something in ourselves. And we must not forget how lucky and insanely privelidged we are to even be able to undertake this journey.
It is activism, pure and simple. Zero Waste is activism.
In my society (northern western) the extreme consumerism is still meeting and clashing with the old mindset of "waste not want not". Norway has, in historical terms, quite recently become a very rich country. But we don't have to look further back than our parents' generation to see a very different lifestyle and mindset. They were hard workers and farmers, they made do. They saved food, they repaired items and a good thing to own was something that was made to last. Now fast forward to our day and age where food is thrown out because it looks "funky" and it is normal to buy new clothes every month; our way of life has changed drastically. There is a chase on. Young people today feel forced to get the best education and the highest paying jobs (which, of course, there aren't enough of to go around) in order to pay for this lifestyle that is expected of them(selves). From every angle we are bombarded with the idea that if we don't spend enough money on stuff (or travels) we are poor, we are lesser, we're missing out on life. So we spend our life, this one precious shot we have at it, chasings education and careers in order to earn enough money to buy stuff.
No wonder we're seeing a backlash. No wonder decluttering and minimalism is trending. People need freedom to grow, and right now consumerism is (excuse me for this one) consuming us as well.
Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong in aspiring to a good career, as long as it is the one you want. And there is absolutely nothing wrong in wanting nice things in ones life. Especially if you've grown up poor and lacking things other people have taken for granted. There are also many people who take pride and joy in collecting certain things be it games, books, memorabilia, trips abroad etc. I am not really talking about that kind of stuff. I am talking about the commercials that tells us that we're less if we don't own something. I am talking about trendsetters who show giant hauls of stuff on youtube every month. I am talking about this idea that the amount you're able to buy is equal to the amount you're worth in our society. Now, the every day joe knows that this isn't true. You wouldn't ditch your friend if they weren't able to spend money while you're out shopping. That would be absurd. And you know that people wouldn't even really notice if you wore the same sweat three times that week. So where is all this coming from then?
Capitalism (as it has morphed into today) would be the easy answer. And now we're getting to the crust of the problem.
Wanting stuff isn't bad in and of itself. But the people who are trying to sell these things to you they want to create as much as possible at the smallest cost. Factories move out of country because it is cheaper, and with them goes all the workspaces. The country they move to might not have as strict laws concerning their worker's safety, and now they are expoiting people. They're drawing resources out of a country that has nothing to give in order to create crappy little plastic things or poor quality clothing which can be sold enmasse. They're all designed to break so you have to buy new in a short period of time. These things that break and are thrown out are usually not recyclable, plastic that won't rot, that will end up in our oceans and in landfills killing wildlife.
It is important to have concumerism in order to have a working economy. If nobody buys anything then the people whose job it is to make and sell them won't earn anything either. We have seen this before when crashes has made people scared and they've stopped buying. It is an evil circle. But right now people need to learn and they need to listen. There has to be a change. This wild consumerism is not healthy. Not to our peace of mind and certainly not for our planet. The only one we got. We throw away enough food to feed the world and yet children are dying right now. Have you ever been really, really hungry? Of course you have. But you survived it. Not everyone are as lucky.
Now, it isn't exactly plausible that we're going to save the world by not buying plastic straws.
But it certainly leaves a message. Civil disobedience. We're not following this world order any longer. We want things to change. But first we have to change something in ourselves. And we must not forget how lucky and insanely privelidged we are to even be able to undertake this journey.
Kommentarer
Legg inn en kommentar