Why do we need to do this?
A lot of the stuff we buy turns into waste and currently the UK and many countries are struggling to find landfill areas in which to dump this waste. When old dumps are full then new areas of land or countryside need to be made available. Obviously in the UK and many countries land for these purposes is limited.
If we send only what is necessary to landfill then we are helping future generations to live in a green and pleasant land.
Disposing of our belongings or ‘stuff’ responsibly especially items that can leach and waterways is paramount in protecting all our ecosystems.
If we cannot deal with waste in our own countries then a common way of managing this problem presently is to send it overseas for example to Turkey, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Netherlands. Of course this carries a financial and carbon cost but in addition there is a moral cost. It is difficult to believe that we are dumping our rubbish in pristine spaces in other countries, even though we pay them to do this.
Materials like waste plastics, metals and paper are growing in number. Increasingly research is showing that plastics are harmful to human health. They also affect animal and marine life.
E-waste is another area where there has been an upsurge in the amounts taken to landfill.
If we want to leave a better world for younger generations then we need to reduce the waste that we create on a daily basis.