Reduce waste this week, next Christmas and every other day

The week from Nov. 22 to Nov. 29 is the European Waste Reduction Week. The reason for such an initiative is obvious from the 2008 images from Naples: many other cities worldwide risk similar crisis and it’s pointless to discuss whether one should recycle or burn waste if you don’t minimize the amount of waste in the first place.

Today, instead, every individual in industrialized countries produces some hundred kilograms of waste every years (imagine a phone booth per person, full of garbage!). Problem is, what can normal people do to avoid the risk of finding their street filled with garbage some day? The answer is “a lot, and with little effort, if you look at the right things”.

Eat less

A good part of that closet of full of garbage that every individual produces is food: for Americans is about one pound per day. Composting food scraps gets a lot of press, but the truth is that only “rich” people, that is people who not only have enough space for a composter, but also (above all) some garden space where to use the compost itself. Besides, wasted food shouldn’t happen period, no matter what you do with it afterwards, should it now? The first and easiest way to reduce the waste you produce is to eat less, which is good for your health anyway, and never buy more than you’ll actually eat.

Buy food, not containers