music plays
Cycling 4,700 miles across America?
That's the easy part.
Try doing it with almost
no negative impact and while
paying attention to how every single
one of your little daily actions
effects the world around you
both near and far.
That's what I did 2 summers ago
and I learned all about
the pressing environmental
issues of our time and how
I can be a part of the solution.
Now I'm sharing with you
what I learned
in a series of 5 videos.
This video is about waste.
The average American creates
4.5 pounds of trash per day.
With a population of
318 million Americans,
that's over 500 billion
pounds of trash every year.
It's easy to just throw our
garbage in the trash can
and never think twice about it.
It's out of sight, out of mind.
So on my journey across America,
I decided that I would hold onto
every single piece of trash I created.
If I lived like the average America,
I'd be carrying over 400 pounds
of trash on my bike trailer
when I reached Vermont.
That would be physically impossible.
To ensure that I'd be able to
make it across America,
I set some guidelines before the trip.
Here's a few of the things
that I committed to doing.
Compost all of my food scraps,
Buy unpackaged food
and bring my own reusable
bags and dishes to eat,
buy used stuff when
I needed something
or purchase new items
with the least packaging,
carry a reusable water bottle,
recycle everything I could,
and patch my bike tires
or give the spent tubes to
a bike shop that could upcycle them.
But what I learned
is that the trash I saw myself
on this trip was nothing
compared to what goes on
behind the scenes.
First, the raw materials have
to be extracted from the earth.
Forests were likely chopped down or
mountain tops removed in the mining.
There's a ton of electricity
and fossil fuels used to produce
the trash and toxic waste
made in the production.
Next, the products are shipped
all around the world
to end up at the store,
all of which takes a ton more
electricity and fossil fuels.
And of course, more fossil fuels
are used to go to the store
and go shopping.
Throughout this entire process,
destruction is happening
both blatantly and in secret.
Air, oceans, lakes and rivers
are polluted.
Animals are displaced and killed,
and a lot of people get really sick
from the pollution and
the crappy work conditions.
I learned, that's what it took
just to put this bag into my hands.
For every garbage can of waste
that we put on the curb,
70 garbage cans of waste
are made up the production line.
...and now this bag is trash.
So what happens from here?
The garbage truck comes
and picks it up.
music plays
Most of our trash is
taken to landfills.
But landfills are have hugely
negative environmental consequences.
They're designed to keep stuff
in them, not break it down.
Even organic material
doesn't biodegrade properly
and some excavations have found
25 year old carrots
and 40 year old,
still legible newspapers.
The stuff that actually
does break down,
releases methane,
a potent greenhouse gas
contributing to climate change.
Other trash is incinerated
and some of the most toxic,
man-made substances
known to science are released
into the air in huge volumes.
But much of it doesn't
make it to the landfill.
Our oceans, forests and streets
are littered with trash.
It may be easy to overlook
a few pieces of trash on the ground,
but its way more prevalent
when we look at the
great pacific garbage patch.
A garbage island the size of Texas
that floats in the middle
of the Pacific Ocean.
This trash is detrimental
to animals and wildlife.
So is recycling the answer?
We absolutely should recycle.
It reduces the need to harvest
virgin resources and mine,
but it is not the answer.
It's a highly resource and
and energy intensive process.
>From the trucks driving
around to pick it up,
to the huge plants taking up land,
the electricity and water used
in recycling the materials.
Not to mention, a lot of recycling
is sent on barges to the other
side of the world
and much of it is
incorrectly disposed of anyway.
After 104 days of cycling,
I made it across the country
creating only 2 pounds of trash
and 9 pounds of recycling.
Just very very rigorously
I followed reduce, reuse, recycle.
2 pounds of trash,
about 8 or 9 pounds of recycling,
and all of my food waste
was buried in the woods
and composted.
So, I don't expect anybody at home
to do just this,
but, this definitely goes to show
how much reduction can be had.
I created over 200 times less trash
than the average person in America.
And it's actually pretty easy
if you stick to the 3 R's.
First, reduce.
Ask yourself, do I really need this?
or do I just want this?
Then, reuse everything you can
as long as you can.
And if reduce and reuse won't work,
then make recycling your last resort.
There are so many ways to apply
the 3 R's into your life.
Here's some of my favorite
recommendations for you.
Composting.
Compost your food scraps
and your yard waste.
Ditching bottled water and
carrying your own water bottle.
Saying no to one time use
disposable items and taking
reusable alternatives instead.
such as a hand towel
rather than napkins.
Buying unpackaged food
like fruits and veggies and
everything in the bulk section.
of the grocery store.
Purchasing used stuff
rather then new stuff in packages.
Repairing stuff rather than
throwing it away and
getting a new one.
Donating stuff to a thrift store
or a friend instead
of throwing it away.
Buying quality stuff
that won't turn into trash.
And being grateful for what you have
instead of trying to
keep up with the Jones'
Subtitles by the Amara.org community