Trash or Treasure?

"Andy crawled through five hundred yards of shit-smelling foulness I can't even imagine. Or maybe I just don't want to. FIVE HUNDRED YARDS. That's the length of five football fields, just shy of half a mile."-Morgan Freeman playing Red in The Shawshank Redemption
Here is a link to that scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neO5fnwQjqg

If you haven't seen the movie, I recommend you go rent/buy/illegally download it off the internet RIGHT NOW. It's a classic. The quote above not only depicts how hard it is to brake out of prison (Andy had to crawl through five hundred yards of sewage to reach freedom) but it also helps us become aware of how much waste we produce. Both internally and externally, human beings are constantly putting waste into the environment. The average American produces about 4.4 pounds of garbage a day, or a total of 29 pounds per week, 1600 pounds a year. However, this only takes into consideration the average household member and does not count commercial or industrial waste. Either way, this is gross.

I understand that some waste that we produce we cannot help, we have to eat to stay alive, but taking part in this blog has really made me aware of the waste I have a choice in producing. For example, I have been cleaning out my dorm room and have started to pack up to leave for summer (I know, I still have a month but the excitement of summer makes me anxious) and I couldn't help realize how much stuff I have. Most of it is crap that I didn't even use all year and my closet if filled with clothes that haven't been worn in months. Something came over me and I decided that what I didn't ABSOLUTELY NEED, I wouldn't keep. I basically went crazy, organizing everything into piles: what I would keep, throw away, and store for later.

I am not going to lie, I was very proud of my organization capabilities, but I couldn't help notice my "throw away" pile was the biggest of them all. There was no way I was going to let my things rot in a huge hole in the earth if I could help it. So, some of my clothes are going to my younger sisters and goodwill, my unused items were given to charity, and the rest was neatly stowed away to bring home. It made me feel good inside to give my things to those in need instead of taking the easy way out and throwing them in the trash bin right outside my door. Sure, it was more work, but it helped save the earth from unneeded waste and it brought satisfaction to both myself and the people I am helping.

So, if you can help it, give your unwanted to items to those in need because one man's "trash" is another man's "treasure". Plus, you get to save the environment in the meantime.

M.T.C