Derivative Images

Ages upon ages ago, says the old grandmother, when angels used to wander on earth, the ground was more fruitful than it is now. Then the stalks of wheat bore not fifty or sixty fold, but four times five hundred fold. Then the wheat- ears grew from the bottom to the top of the stalk.

But the men of the earth forgot that this blessing came from God, and they became idle and selfish.

One day a woman went through a wheat-field, and her little child, who accompanied her, fell into a puddle and soiled her frock. The mother tore off a handful of the wheat-ears and cleaned the child's dress with them.

Just then an angel passed by and saw her. Wrathfully he spoke, 'Wasteful woman, no longer shall the wheat- stalks produce ears. You mortals are not worthy of the gifts of Heaven!'

Some peasants who were gathering wheat in the fields heard this, and falling on their knees, prayed and entreated the angel to leave the wheat alone, not only on their account, but for the sake of the little birds who otherwise must perish of hunger.

The angel pitied their distress, and granted a part of the prayer. And from that day to this the ears of wheat have grown as they do now. - A Tale From The Brothers Grimm

If wasting is bad, then why is there such a culture of waste today?

Let's get educated:

Firstly, materialism and consumerism. Materialism is the preoccupation with material goods, while consumerism is the practice of purchasing more and more goods. Both are prevalent in our society today, which is engulfed with the notions of “More and more” and “The newer, the better”.

Because of that, we would buy things without considering if we need them, which results in wastage because we never have a need for the things we purchase.

This could have been avoided if we did not acquire stuff we didn’t need in the first place.

Secondly, we are ignorant about the issues of waste.

I was once one of these people too. Reckless shopping, buying clothes that I thought I might wear but would eventually not wear, throwing out clothes that I had never worn before, and then repeating the cycle all over again. This is part of the materialistic culture in my country. It would be a matter of time before I realized how wasteful this behavior was and how it could be prevented by being conscious of my consumption in the first place.

Many of us are only aware what is involved in the consumption stage of goods, without knowing what it took to produce those goods or what happens when they are thrown away. We take for granted that the world will always be around, not knowing our resources are being rapidly depleted as we speak, or the harm we are inflicting on our world.

How to Personally Prevent Waste ...

1) Prevent Material Wastage

Buy only what you need.  Wastefulness is merely a symptom that we do not know what we need.  Before purchasing, ask yourself:

Do I need this? Our modern society has created a materialistic culture, where people are encouraged to buy more without thinking if they need any of these things. This is the case everywhere in technology, fashion, and consumer goods. Differentiate between needing and wanting something. Buy only if you need it.

If you’re buying food, ask yourself the additional question of: Will I finish this? Buy only if your answer is “yes” to both.

Make replacement purchases only if you need to.

How often do you replace your items? To be honest, you don’t need that latest laptop/mobile/camera/watch/bag/wallet/clothing. Get it only if you have a real need for it. See the first point of this list.

Celebrating special occasions:

Learn to celebrate the occasion sans gifts. There is a message behind each occasion, and getting a gift is only one way of expressing the message. Learn to embrace and deliver the message without gifts, rather than rely on gifts to do the work. Consider alternatives to gifts such as acts of kindness, e-cards, heartfelt letters (or emails), fun-filled activities, or meal treats. These are environmentally conscious ways of celebrating the event.

Buy gifts only if there is a need. If you absolutely have to buy something, do your research and ensure it’s something the person will use. The worst purchase is when you buy someone something for the sake of buying, and it’s not even something which the person want nor need. The best gift is when it’s something the person is intending to get for him/herself at some point anyway. This way, your gift has more meaning and will be put into good use.

2) Prevent Food Wastage

Cultivate the habit of packing food. Pack food after each meal (at home or in the restaurant), if you have leftovers. Packing food is a very good habit as it helps save not only food, but also time and money from not having to get your next meal. Even if you don’t like the food, pack it for someone else who may want it.

While you’re at it, bring your Tupperware whenever you go out. This way, you can easily pack food when needed, which will be handy since not all establishments provide packing boxes (such as food courts). Not only that, the reusability of the Tupperware means no wastage of packing boxes.

Buy only what you need. Don’t buy food unless you’re absolutely sure (a) you’re going to eat it (b) you’re going to finish it. This is especially so for perishable food like fruits, vegetables, takeout and prepacked food. The acquaintance I mentioned in the opening would buy food without considering if he was going to finish it or not — in the end, it would get tossed into the bin because it had gone bad before he ever got to it. Not only did he waste precious food, but he also wasted money.

Finish the food at home first before you buy more. Don’t buy food to stock up – we’re not entering a famine. Finish what you have at home first, then go grocery shopping.

Omit food you don’t want. In restaurants, if there is something you don’t eat in a dish, ask the server to omit that. For example, I don’t like to eat rice. Hence, if my dish comes with rice, I would ask the servers to exclude that, as opposed to them serving rice and having it thrown away eventually because it is untouched. Fine if I’m paying the same price – the point is not to waste food.

3) Prevent Plastic Wastage

Bring your own bag. One of the biggest material wastage is via carrier paper/plastic bags. When grocery shopping, set aside a big bag or a trolley for grocery shopping, and use this whenever you head to the supermarket. Supermarkets like Ralphs (in the west coast of the States) let you buy a large recyclable bag for $0.99 USD which you can use over and over again. When doing general shopping, put your purchases in bags you have on hand. Let the cashiers know you don’t need their bags.

Save plastic cups.

At the office. If you work in an office, you probably have a pantry, complete with a coffee maker, tea bags, a water dispenser and plastic/paper cups – whereby you use 2-3 cups a day for just drinking. The average American office worker uses about 500 disposable cups every year! In a global corporation with 100,000 employees, that’s 50 million cups wasted annually! Instead of using disposable cups, get a mug and use this for all your drinks from now on.

Ordering at the cafe. If you order coffee/tea every day from the same cafe, keep the plastic cup and hand it to the server for your next orders. One cup a day adds up to hundreds a year. Starbucks has a program where you save 10 cents off your beverage when you bring your Starbucks reusable tumblers or travel mugs. Not only do you get to save the environment, you get to save your money too!

Save plastic utensils. Every year, Americans throw away enough paper and plastic cups, forks, and spoons to circle the equator 300 times. Many of us use plastic utensils once and throw them away after 1 use, which is a big waste and totally unnecessary. Bring a set of utensils whenever you go out (fork, knife, spoon). Now, use this set instead of taking plastic utensils when you eat out. Wash/wipe it when you’re done, so you can reuse it the next time.

4) Prevent Paper Wastage

Print only if you need to. Back when I was working in the corporate environment, a lot of paper was wasted every day printing material which was either used once or not used at all. If you have a presentation, have the audience refer to the screen instead. Print it only if you need it. A paperless office is the way to go in this new decade.

Go for soft copy over hard copy.

Use rough paper if you need to write. If you really need to have a hard copy, then use rough paper as your first choice. There’s no need to buy a new fancy notebook or buy writing pads. Whenever I need to jot notes, I’ll take from the stack of rough papers I’ve collected over time.

Use a handkerchief or towel – over paper napkins or tissues, which add up quickly. You use it once and throw it away, even though 90% is unused most of the time. Play a part in saving our rainforests. Use a handkerchief to wipe your hands/mouth (one side for each). Handkerchiefs used to be seen as old-fashioned and unhygienic, but I think it’s now the “in” thing to do. It’s reusable, a conscious choice, and cute too, if I may say so myself. At home, use a towel for cleaning. Put them away in the laundry basket when they are dirty. That way, you also save water.

5) Prevent Water Wastage

Turn the tap tight every time. Make sure it does not drip. Fix your tap if it’s leaking – get a plumber or fix it yourself. A tap that drips one one drop a second wastes more than 600 liters a month, or over 7,500 liters a year! (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Take short showers (3-4 minutes), over baths or long showers. Baths use nearly 2.5 times as much water as showers, while showers use 3-4 buckets of clean drinking water – every minute. (Source: Water Wise)

When washing your face, use a basin and a sponge, rather than let the water run.

Use a mug to rinse your mouth. Running the tap while brushing your teeth can waste 4 gallons of water. (Source: Huffington Post)

At home, use the same set of utensils, plate and bowl. Wash them only if they are dirty. I realized a lot of us wash our utensils or put it away in the sink when it’s still perfectly clean. Most of the time, I use my plate or bowl as a place to hold my food (like fruits, vegetables, or bread slices) and they barely get dirty. Hence, I use them over and over, and wash them only when they are dirty.

Do you know a full toilet flush can use up to 15 liters of water for every flush, whereas half flush uses less than 6 liter? (Source: Water Wise) When using the toilet, use a half flush if it’s number one (pee), and a full flush if it’s number two (poo). Install a dual-flush toilet system if you don’t already have one.

If you use a dishwasher, turn it on only when it’s full. Not when it’s half-full.

Do your laundry only when you have a maximum load. The same amount of water is used whether you’re washing only 1 underwear or one huge basket of clothes.

6) Prevent Fuel Wastage

Switch off lights when no in use. Casper doesn’t need lights to see his way around.

Switch off appliances when you’re not using them. Including TV, radio, and the computer.

Don’t get a car unless you absolutely need to. Not only do you conserve the environment, you also save money, since having a car can be quite expensive, especially in places like Singapore, New York City, and London.

Use alternatives to private transport. Such as the public transport, cycling, walking, or even car pooling. When I was in Holland, I was amazed at their culture of cycling. Not only does it help fuel conservation in the country, it also keeps everyone trim and fit – Holland is easily the country with highest proportion of fit people I’ve ever been to.

7) Cultivate the habit of recycling.

Did you know that… 1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours? 1 recycled glass bottle would save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes? 1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for 3 hours? And 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials?

8) Donate things you don’t need.

For clothes, shoes, books, and other belongings that you don’t need, either (a) sell them on eBay (b) give them to someone you know who will have a use for them, or (c) donate them to the Salvation Army, orphanages or old folks’ home. Don’t throw them away or leave them lying around unused. You may not recognize this, but there are plenty of people out there who can benefit from them.

We only have one world to live in, so let’s not destroy it with our reckless behavior.

May the Great Spirit smile upon you and bless you ~!

Source Waste Culture Advice Passages for educational use and read more @: https://personalexcellence.co/blog/how-to-prevent-waste/