Ocean plastic – the well-publicised companion issue of climate change, with whole documentaries dedicated to the devastating images of plastic bags spewing out of the stomachs of washed-up whales.
We see these images and are outraged and saddened, and then the vast majority of people continue to consume and dispose of waste as they have always done.
Organisations such as Sea Shepherd are making concerted efforts to remove plastic waste from the ocean. Though vital, these efforts are patching holes in a sinking ship unless the interminable source of plastic waste is reduced to a trickle rather than a flood.
At Sydney City Rubbish, we’re ecstatic to be a part of these efforts to stem the tide of single use plastics in Sydney. It’s so important to ensure that everyone is doing their part.
Why, then, are people easily outraged by these images of a plastic ocean unwilling or unable to make minor alterations to their daily routines to ebb the flow of plastic from our grocery stores into our oceans? The answer is usually convenience and money.
The Source
The contemporary, busy lifestyle demands the convenience of readily available, pre-packaged food.
Single use plastic is the cheapest and easiest choice for businesses to sell these in, and hence the transition away from these is inextricable with convenience.
Adjusting to the less convenient lifestyle of re-usable bottles, wraps, coffee cups etc. is neither easy nor quick. It is a true change in lifestyle.
Thus, many people avoid this transition, and swathes of waste continue to blow and wash out of bins and off streets into storm water drains, depositing into the ocean.
In the ocean plastic will take up to 1000 years to decompose, and the microplastics they are broken down into are devastating to ocean organisms, as well as humans.
Changing Habits
Overwhelming to a single individual, cognitive dissonance is understandably the preferred track to take, but not the only way.
If 1 million decided to go without a plastic straw in one day, that is 1 million less pieces of plastic waste.
Put simply, what may seem like a futile gesture adds up to have a significant impact overall, and this is the best place to start changing habits.
It’s exactly the same with businesses, including those that produce all sorts of commercial business waste and office junk in Sydney.
Recycle, Repurpose
Changing habits can scale up to bigger scales- rather than sending an old desk to the tip, cut it, strip it and re-purpose it into something new.
This built in obsolescence of cheap furniture and its perpetual replacement became a concern for our director, Adam, and the ethos behind Sydney City Rubbish:
“…I see how much rubbish comes out of households and businesses and became concerned with where it all goes and how little of it gets recycled.”
The war on waste simmers down to each individual choice of how to dispose of, and more importantly how to prevent waste.
This is why we’re working to aid the efforts of Sea Shepherd by donating $10 from every rubbish removal service to their company. You can keep up with our progress here.
To discuss a commercial rubbish removal service, get in touch with Sydney City Rubbish here.
