(Applause)
It is a hundred times more complex than municipal sewage.
it is produced about 1.5 million Liters every day in Iran.
and it pollutes billion cubic meters of water around the country
and a thousand tonnes of rich soil every year.
what am I talking about?
they enter groundwaters and surface waters
from leachates that flow from landfill centers.
and put the health of living creatures, especially aquatics, in danger.
these polluted waters enter agricultural fields
and pollute the productions that we use as a foodstuff.
these leachates weaken the soil by penetrating the underground layers;
and may cause bigger disasters like landslides in landfill centers.
Greenhouse gasses emitted from landfill centers, cause global warming.
plains, forests, deserts, and beaches are full of garbage
and have become landfill centers!
all these damages start with this black trash bag
that we take out every night.
so, what can we do?
I have been segregating waste at home since 1992 when I was in high school.
but as I became acquainted with the facts about waste
during these last 2 years.
when I found out that a very low percentage of our waste is recycled;
when I grabbed a bag of chips and went to the Shiraz Waste Management Organization
and asked them unbelievably if it is true that they do not recycle these materials?
When I found out that garbage collection costs millions of Tomans a day
Just to get them away from our eyes, without any good fate waiting for them.
When I realized that one of the reasons for the high incidence of cancer,
in the upper provinces of the country; specially Mazandaran province
are leachates and agriculture with polluted water.
When I realized that without paying attention to proper management of waste;
I can't expect to have healthy and organic products,
I came to this belief that everyone
should take responsibility for the waste they produce.
it's not only because of leachates and poor waste management;
Even with the best waste management system,
We have to make lifestyle changes towards a low-waste living,
as garbage production shows misuse, extravagance
and withdrawing non-renewable resources.
How many living planets are left?
Avoiding and reducing waste production
should become two main principles in our lives.
then, we should move towards reusing and recycling
Let's hear my own story!
In the late summer of 2018, I have decided to change my lifestyle
so that I produce less or even zero waste.
But at the very begining I faced a big challenge,
Wet waste;
which contains 70% of our municipal solid waste
this is the waste that causes all the contaminations and destruction.
I wondered if I could manage the waste produced in my own house;
I have been through exactly 70% of the way of a zero-waste lifestyle.
I knew that many people in the world make compost at home.
which is also very effective.
But I was in a hurry then.
I could not spend 3 to 6 months finding out if the method works or not.
And I wanted to get rid of taking the garbage
outside the house every other night, as soon as possible.
And I wanted to stop producing waste that caused leachates.
finally, I have decided to dry up the wet waste.
I dry up wet waste at home.
This will reduce 80% of waste volume
and up to 90% of the waste weight.
leachates will be completely removed.
And the usage of plastic bags will be significantly reduced
because we no longer have to put the trash outside the house every other night.
we can even take out the trash once a year.
And the interesting part about drying up wet waste is that
we become aware of the number of foodstuffs we turn into food loss;
which makes us modify our cooking style.
Drying up wet waste isn't like composting
that you should put the trash in dark and high storage;
not knowing what we have produced.
When you stir wet waste for aeration every morning,
you find out that you have not eaten your apple to the end.
you have peeled a thick layer of potato and onion;
and you notice that carelessness has caused
the rice to stick to the bottom of your pot.
this is exactly the moment where you
decide to go further than sustainability in fashion, agriculture, and development,
and use sustainability in your cooking style too.
then sustainable cooking becomes the main principle in your kitchen.
let's review the process once again.
we can dry up wet waste in order to
have a fragrant and dry substance;
instead of producing a stinky and contaminating one.
which is not only not harmful to the environment,
but also it can be used for livestock and poultry feeding.
you're the one who chooses;
you can choose these trash bags that will darken the future of the earth,
or you can choose this fragrant substance
that is a great help for traditional livestock keepers.
as you can see, this is the garbage
produced by my family of 3 during one month.
drying up wet waste is such a simple task.
it is just like drying dill, mint, and fruit roll-ups.
you only need to have 2 or 3 ordinary baskets at home;
and cut the waste into small pieces.
you just have to stir the pieces once or twice a day for aeration.
aerating will quickly remove the initial moisture of the waste;
so that mosquitoes and mold would no longer be an issue.
I have dried up wet waste anywhere and in every season;
during my travel to the north, to south,
over the radiator, under the shadow, under the sun
and almost everywhere!
as I told you, drying is very simple.
I have once traveled to an area full of ants
and I did a simple and old trick
that I had learned at the Larestan Anthropological Museum,
a short distance from the wall and the ground.
it takes 3 to 6 days to dry the wet waste.
after 3 or 6 days that they dried, keep them in a storage or a sack.
and then you can take them out of your house
once a month, 3 times a month, or even once a year!
or you can bury them under the ground or in your garden
so that they will turn into compost
but it'd be better to use them
for traditional livestock feeding.
garbages become stinky when they are kept in plastic trash bags
that are tightly closed
but when you place the waste in a basket and provide fresh air for them,
what less do they have than red tulips?
I do believe that there should be no wet waste in any trash bin around cities.
we should either compost them in our houses
and turn them into organic fertilizer for soil,
or we should dry them at home
and use them for livestock and poultry feeding.
and that would be the time when you can say;
phew! I have nothing to do with the contamination.
Thank you.
(Applause)