About a year ago waste disrupted the way I normally functioned. This was due to a hurricane flooding my neighborhood and my house. Because of the flooding and the lack of road service available, there was a lot of trash and waste in front of my house for a while. Some of it was yard waste as the tree in front of our house had a lot of branches and sticks that fell but we also had to cut down that tree due to fears of instability for the next storm. There was also a lot of our furniture and things that were on the floor that could not be salvaged. We had to throw away a lot as the water that seeped into our house was dangerous and contained gasoline and other contaminants. We also had to remove the bottom half of the drywall on all of our walls which also produced a significant amount of trash. There was simply no service to pick up all of the waste that we had in front of our house and in front of all of our neighbors houses. Our whole neighborhood was affected by the storm as we lived in a low elevation area. In an emergency Public Services don’t always work like they should, which is understandable because it’s an emergency and they needed to be more focused on other things, But it was very stressful and messy. It took about a month or two for all of the trash to be removed from in front of our house which just made me worry a bit about pollution and runoff from the items sitting out there for over a month. it was not very sanitary but most trash isn’t.
Author Archives: Kacie Bates
Paint water
I like to collage. I enjoy creating art, and because of this, I often end up with some waste after making my art. It makes sense that art creation produces waste, as you can’t use all the materials. Despite trying to minimize waste, there’s always some leftover. Since much of my journaling and collaging involve found materials, I tend to keep small scraps, even if I don’t have a specific purpose for them yet.
Another type of art waste I generate is paint water. I didn’t know for a while that it shouldn’t be poured down the drain. Acrylic paint water, when left to dry in a bucket, allows the water to evaporate, leaving behind the dried acrylic or other medium used. I only made the connection with the name “acrylic” later on.
When it comes to watercolors, unless they are sparkly, I usually pour them down the drain, even though I know I shouldn’t. The reason is that there’s a cat in my house, and I don’t want him to drink it and get sick. While I use him as an excuse, I know that it’s not the best practice. I might be in trouble if this pollution were completely prohibited, but it could be a good motivator to set up a system where I’m not just pouring it down the drain and leaching harmful materials into our water.
Double or nothing
I need to fidget and because of that I have made some interesting fidget toys based on them having a nice texture. An example of that is I had a single-use lidocaine patch like one of the big pad ones. I put the patch on my body for pain management and it helped. While I was putting it on I noticed it had a nice squish to it so once it was done I took it off and folded it in half. I just kept it for about a month or two to just feel it. I would roll it up, it would be squishy kind of like one of those little mini Squishy toys. And because of that material that I was made out of it was also cold and so when it was hot in my dorm I could also just put it near my face and it’d be cold and nice. I wasn’t using the object for its intended purpose. Well I did use it for its intended purpose and then I found another purpose after. I’ll probably do that again if I need to use another lidocaine patch. The Object is disposable because it only has one use, to be put on your body to numb the pain and when it’s been on long enough then you can take it off and throw it away. While cleaning my room I did end up throwing it away because it was the floor and it got a bit gross and dirty. It’s quite frustrating how many things are single use, which is why I normally stick to lidocaine creams, especially the roll-on kind. As those can be used multiple times even if the packaging isn’t super great.
Moldy Fruit
A moldy piece of fruit is a waste object that could be seen as a hazard, a risk, and a resource. The Moldy piece of fruit is considered a hazard because mold is generally not the best to be around there’s a lot of people to have mold allergies and also consuming mold can cause a lot of people to get sick. The Moldy piece of fruit can also be considered a risk as it may cause other food in the fridge to become moldy faster as it spreads its spores which can create more frustration and loss of goods. but it can also be seen as a resource since moldy food is something that you can put in the compost bin and the compost can be used for fertilizing soil and other plants and so in that mind it is not as bad as it ending up in a landfill and not being able to decompose due to the environment. Things that are seen as a hazard is something I am more likely to throw away if I see something as a resource I will want to keep it until I’m able to use it as a resource and so there have been times when I put moldy food in the freezer because I don’t have the energy to take it out to the compost bin but I also would feel terribly guilty about throwing away food that was once fresh and I could have had the potential to eat I just didn’t. When I think of moldy food I was unable to get to due to my lack of object permanence with my ADHD and my lack of energy and fatigue; it makes me feel less bad if I’m able to consider it as a resource that still has value.
Little tin box
Many things are structured around distancing us from waste. One example I can think of is sanitary disposal boxes in the public bathroom. After one has used a sanitary napkin and needs to dispose of it they are able to put it in a little brown paper bag inside the metal waste receptacle in the bathroom stall. Keeps the biological waste away from other people that have to use the stall and makes it more discreet as they are able to not throw it away outside of the individual stall which can sometimes be embarrassing for some people. In many men’s bathrooms those receptacles aren’t there which can create some frustration for those who need to use those bathrooms but menstruate. These receptacles provide a place to dispose of waste that is in general in society seen as shameful or embarrassing. where a lot of people will be very embarrassed if their pad rapper crinkles while they’re trying to unwrap it and it’s a shame that periods and menstruation is so Vilified when it’s a natural biological process that nearly half the population has.
In New York
I recently traveled to New York and I was able to have personal experience with the trash of New York City. I was able to understand the waste workers reading a lot more as I was in the city of the DSNY. New York being such a heavily populated city there is a lot of waste that people and businesses produce.
I can understand how the trash piles up when the sanitation workers are unable to fulfill their job due to traffic, strikes, or some other reason.
I also took notice of the amount of waste that I was producing. Eating out frequently meant having containers for leftovers, leading to more trash.
I believe if there was more motivation to reduce waste or a greater focus on recycling and food waste disposal, much of the trash could be minimized.
However, it really depends on the time and education invested in making these changes.
I personally feel that people generally believe the responsibility for trash is no longer theirs once it leaves their personal property or home. While I understand this in some cases, it’s easier to not worry about it and let it be out of sight. Dealing with the amount of waste we produce becomes less impending and exhausting once it’s out of mind.
Snack pack
I eat a lot of snacks. I don’t always have the energy to cook for myself so I will rely on food in wrappers and shiny metallic bags to provide me sustenance. I throw away a lot of these shiny wrappers as there is not a way to recycle them. They are even in most paper boxes of food to preserve the food from humidity and mold. This is important for me as someone with severe allergies that I need those packaged foods as bulk stores are not safe for me due to cross contact with allergens. An archaeologist may look at these empty wrappers and wonder why there are so many scattered around, they are quite colorful and shiny so maybe they will think they were used as offerings or as decorations. If they find a bag full they may think about how this culture had a general mistrust of fresh foods and had an obsession with packaging food. There is a strong sense of sanitation when it comes to foods but I am sure in 1000 years they may be concerned about the leaching of these containers and the amount of them there. We as a society have an obsession with wrapped goods. It is much more convenient to eat a bag of chips then find a vendor who makes them fresh or make our own. There is currently not a convenient way to store much of this food and I rely on it for accessibility to safe food. Once medicine has evolved and I can take something that makes me have to worry less about cross contact and be able to participate in bulk stores and the like. We are food hoarders like squirrels storing away nuts for the winter, we buy in excess to ensure in an emergency or a craving the food will be there. We are in a time where food is something we do not have the time for. With time being a commodity, “wasting” time cooking meals from scratch is not efficient and buying prepackaged foods and snacks is much better so we can work longer hours. Food packaging will cover the earth, as there is simply too much of it and it is light enough to flow in the wind. They will be everywhere like glitter.
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-pile-of-empty-bags-from-chips-and-snacks-prepared-to-be-recycled-31887098.html
Medicine Bottle Mountain
An item I have talked a bit about before but still want to see in a circular economic system is Medicine bottles. Medicine bottles could easily enter a circular economic system as it is an item that is used daily by most people and when it is empty it loses value. You can’t ask for your medicine in the same bottle and pharmacies don’t request them back. These bottles could either be sanitized again or melted down to create them again. In the past medicine was in glass bottles which could also be an option due to it being generally chemically inert. It is frustrating to see a lack of a circular system for this item as the pharmaceutical industry produces 194 billion plastic pill bottles a year! There is no reason besides profit for this lack of sustainability especially as 90% of these bottles land in landfills. Due to the size of medicine bottles they are generally not recyclable as they will simply fall through the machine. The plastic they are made from is recyclable but the size makes them unable to be sorted at most recycling plants. We need a place to recycle and refine this plastic so we do not create more of it. With that in place pharmacies and stores can provide a drop off location for these bottles which can then be recycled into the same goods. A switch back to glass is also an option, but glass is heavy and can break easier which makes it less desirable. A company known as Cabinet Health is trying to create a new system for this issue by sending medicine in parcels that can then be emptied into glass bottles which are reused. This is an option but still creates waste and the bottles are expensive. The world just needs to be open to renovation and innovation to help create a safer world without the need for single use plastics that are thrown into landfills.
Shit as a Resource in Edo Period Japan
When thinking about shit and it being used as a resource I remember this youtube video.
https://youtu.be/0tYaXBkiq70?si=qshd9gKm02ovfKxB
During the Edo period of Japan (1603-1868) poop was not just a form of waste it was also seen as a resource. While big cities in Europe had constant issues with contaminated water and dirty streets during this time, Japan had clean streets and the water was not filled with poop. Poop was seen as a valuable resource for farming as a fertilizer one that increased with an increasing population. Japan did not have a culture of meat eating like many European countries so they did not have as much animal waste as a resource so they needed to rely on people’s waste for fertilizer. This is known as night soil. The farmland in Japan was also very limited and with an increasing population, night soil helped keep the land fertile and helped produce more crops. People who collected poop created great wealth for their family but they were seen as public outcasts due to doing the dirty work of the population. This reminded me of the Strike Breaker reading as the family that recirculated waste was outcasted from society in a similar way. This was a useful and safer way to dispose of human waste as other countries would simply throw it into the surrounding waters which were then drunk from. When you collect and divert waste the water supply stays cleaner and is healthier. Using waste as a resource is something that is important to look into as we progress as it can recirculate nutrients and create less harm through our current artificial fertilizers and harmful farming practices.
CAN you see the treasure
I was in the QCAC doing homework with a friend and I noticed that there was a significant amount of metal soda cans in the trash and recycling. There must have been a party or event the night before for so many cans to be piled in there. I come from Florida where there is no deposit fee for cans or glass so coming to school in Massachusetts I was excited to see how that affects the recycling in the area. For those who were partying in here earlier I guess it did not influence them enough to save the cans. But it gave me an idea! My friend collects metal cans for the 5 cent deposit each and I now just gained nearly one dozen of them. I ended up letting him know and he met me at the QCAC to pick the cans out. The nice thing about the cans being inside and fresh they did not have any maggots or ants on them like the ones by the dumpster (that was horrifying to pick up without gloves). These cans just needed a quick rinse to get the syrupy soda out and they were ready to be put in the pile. These were fairly easy to retrieve compared to other waste I have taken out of the trash.
I have also experimented with making pencil holders with soda cans, which was a bit difficult due to my lack of proper cutting equipment. I hope to explore more of diverting waste into crafts. I think I would prefer to work with other materials since aluminum cans are much easier to recycle compared to their plastic relatives. I was happy to save some of the cans from the trash and ensure they were actually recycled unlike much of the recycled materials aren’t. An empty can is seen as something that has lost its initial purpose but there is still value even after it no longer holds a person’s drink. With bottle deposits and through crafts.