Essay Sample about Waste Reduction

The world is slowly deteriorating as the planet's waste, which exponentially grows daily, continues to take a toll on the environment. Globally, we produce "2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, with at least 33 percent of that—extremely conservatively—not managed in an environmentally safe manner" (What a Waste). While some may argue that the world has made considerable progress in waste minimization, waste must be reduced and recycled at an increased rate to create a healthier environment.

​​The change to reduce must begin in schools. If children can learn how to reduce waste at school, they will take those practices home with them and teach siblings, parents, rapidly minimizing waste. In schools, waste is the most obtrusive in the lunchroom; “Unfortunately, most students at school waste a lot of food and it ends up in the garbage bins, which means ultimately, it ends up in landfill where it adds to the world’s climate crisis” (Karpouzis). Not only are food and money lost, but with each piece of organic trash thrown out, greenhouse gasses are increased significantly at landfills across the country. Waste in the lunchroom becomes habitual; then, these children take this habit home and add to the copious amounts of wasted food throughout the world daily. However, if students abandon this learned behavior, starting in schools, they possess the opportunity to make significant advances when it comes to waste reduction. How do students begin creating change? A website from OZ harvest shares tips, tricks, and guidelines to help reduce waste at home, school, and work; this website also helps students create campaigns to run at their prospective schools. (AKBAŞLI et al.). If students and youth lessen waste at school, they will reduce waste at home and reduce our global waste.

One industry that is producing massive amounts of waste is electronics. Annually there are 53.6 million tons of electronic waste produced globally. Most of this waste ends up in landfills where it sits for years, as electronics decompose over thousands if not millions of years. Electronics thrown away aren’t the only thing wasted; money is too. According to a recent article from Business World, recycling e-waste is potentially a “50 billion [dollar] market” (IIT Madras Developing). This potential e-waste recycling market would produce revenue, recycle electronic waste, and produce environmentally friendly electronics; E-waste recycling creates jobs and reduces the current global employment crisis. Many claims state that programs are in place to recycle electronics. However, around 23% of E-Waste produced by developed countries is exported to smaller developing countries to be recycled where regulations on emissions, pollution control, and contamination are lacking (Seeberger et al.). This statement creates the false perception that our environment benefits from this, as electronics are not populating landfills in the United States, but it does more harm than good due to unregulated emissions released into the atmosphere during this process.   

How does one solve world hunger? They eliminate food waste. World hunger is a genuine and current issue: “Globally… 150 million children, under the age of five years, do not have access to regular, nourishing food” (Karpouzis). Children worldwide starve while first-world countries waste extra food and leftovers. Eliminating food waste could end the world hunger epidemic. With the volume of food wasted, one-third of the total food produced would feed every malnourished child and adult. If our society did not waste that food, greenhouse gas emissions would diminish, forests would thrive, and landfill sizes would shrink (Now Even E.P.A.). All of these lead to a healthier environment, atmosphere, and lifestyle for future generations.

Some may argue that reducing waste is arbitrary and unnecessary in such an advanced civilization; yet, it is more necessary now than ever as waste production is at an all-time high. Companies are focusing on how to reduce food waste before their products reach their consumers "By bringing structural changes in the entire supply chain system," in doing this, they guarantee that "food produced in any corner of the country reaches to the other without being wasted or hoarded" (VIT-AP University Files Patent). Even though this is a crucial step in food waste reduction, there are still billions of dollars wasted, and around 40% of perishable food items are lost (VIT-AP University Files Patent). Many patents and new approaches for waste reduction are in progress. These new ideas could minimize waste by an innumerable amount. The world is still behind in waste reduction as global warming rises and becomes a significant issue due to greenhouse gasses from landfills. Even though this is a crucial step, billions of dollars and around 40% of perishable food items remain wasted each year despite these efforts (VIT-AP University Files Patent). Not to mention, E-waste is at an all-time high with little effort put toward its reduction. Landfills lie littered with electronics that release toxic chemicals as they decompose over millions of years. (IIT Madras Developing). Waste reduction is imperative to the longevity of the earth and its inhabitants. 

In today's world of advanced technology, waste is still an alarming issue. There is daily waste from minute things such as school lunchrooms to something as grand as the multibillion-dollar electronics industry. Money remains abandoned on the table, people are neglected and hungry, and the environment humans call home slowly dies as its inhibitors sit idly by watching. If change does not occur soon to the lifestyle that many US citizens have become accustomed to, there will be nothing to save.