The major problem that we are facing in our environment is garbage disposal. Many companies are coming up with new ideas to reduce the amount of waste that comes from a house, hospital or industry. Sometimes, it is difficult to control the waste coming out of factories or hospitals, but we can manage waste coming from our homes. Some products like menstrual cups, washable incontinence pads, bamboo toothbrushes, etc., can significantly help in reducing the non-biodegradable waste to replace plastics and non-reusable pads.
The waste generated gets piled up in a place, and from there, it gets into the water bodies, due to which the marine life is getting affected. We have all heard of global warming and the great rubbish patches formed in many oceans. If this increases, then this is going to be a great threat to human life as well. So it is also important for schools to teach waste management and encourage them to use eco-friendly products.
Reduce, Recycle, Reuse
There are many ways in which we can easily achieve waste management by following the 3 Rs. First, we have to avoid using plastics and other non-biodegradable waste as much as possible. For example, we can make shopping bags from our home instead of getting plastic bags from the shops. (they are still in use in some places though they are banned). We can use products that are made out of biodegradable materials in place of plastics and nylon-like bamboo toothbrushes, Steel/glass water bottles, carry steel straws and mugs while travelling to avoid using disposable straws and plastic/paper cups, etc.
The next important R is the Recycling of waste. In many households, people have started using biogas extracted from the kitchen and other vegetable waste, recycling kitchen water for cleaning and gardening, and producing natural manure by composting kitchen waste, papers and dry leaves, etc. Another interesting way is to encourage buying recycled products like bags made out of old plastic waste and synthetic substances.
The final R is the Reuse. We cannot avoid or stop using plastic completely as they are easy to maintain, lightweight and durable. So we can reuse them as much as possible. We get so many products in plastic bottles like floor cleaners, oil and other products. We can use such bottles to sow seeds and create a kitchen garden. The other popular products related to personal hygiene are reusable and washable incontinence pads and sanitary pads.
The main advantage of using reusable products is that it will reduce the waste disposed of daily. Other popular ideas are inserting plastic covers and wrappers into a plastic bottle before disposing of them reduces the number of individual plastic wrappers thrown every day. A plastic bottle can hold up to even a month’s plastic waste.
Non-Conventional energy sources
Many countries have started using other energy sources like solar power, biogas for cooking, recycled water for cleaning and gardening, vehicles running on other energy sources apart from petrol and diesel. In countries where sunlight is available in abundance, it can utilise it as much as possible to avoid conventional electricity that will, in turn, lead to minimal usage of coal.
As humans play the most important role in polluting the environment, we should try to be responsible and motivate other people to save our earth by following the 3 Rs in our day-to-day lives.
