by Jacob Williams
A Note to ‘Freegan’ parents Firstly, not wanting to participate in the capitalist, consumption based economic system surrounding us is perfectly understandable. I know the urge to feel so disenchanted with the ‘system’ that you refuse to contribute completely. There are ways to do this that are impactful and can lessen your personal footprint of waste, carbon-emission, and climate change. I hope you also keep that same energy in political efforts, as that is what will ultimately lead to true systemic alterations and major corporate behavioral adjustments. We may be past ‘A’ point of no return but not ‘The’ point of no return, and not all hope is lost in pursuing what may be considered conventional avenues of discourse. Just know that if you are able to choose waste-picking as a means of self sustainment that you occupy that same space with others doing the same thing out of necessity. You may be taking something from a person that did not have the privilege to be where you are by choice or ideology.
by Jacob Williams
What’s really in my trash? After you throw something away, you may think that it just goes from your house to the trash can then maybe to the dump. But in many major cities around the world, trash goes to many places before the vast majority of it ends in a landfill. One of the most important things to understand is that your trash, my trash, and everyone’s trash is almost constantly moving and takes on a life of its own after you’ve used and gotten rid of it. Trash is a problem for many people - it pollutes our water, air, and streets. But not all trash is the same! We often throw away things that are recyclable. These recyclable objects can be used for other purposes and are sought after by people who can collect and resell them to other people that know how valuable they are. This line of work can benefit the environment and people all around the world, but it can also be dangerous. This book goes into detail to help you understand more about this, and how you might be able to help!
Why work there? Finding jobs can be hard, but most of us need a job to make a living and some form of income to keep ourselves and loved ones happy, healthy, and safe. All over the world, people who have harder times finding a source of income actively seek it out in their environment. And our environments are becoming increasingly overwhelmed with trash. Over half of all trash in the US eventually finds its way into a landfill. Landfills can be a helpful income source for people that have extreme financial need. It can be a source of supplementary income for caregivers that don’t have enough time during the day for employment. Women, widows, orphans, and street kids have historically used landfills as a safety net during times where employment was hard to come by. Economic highs and lows, war, and natural disasters are all reasons for employment hardships.
People that live or work in a dump site have to be very careful. There are several things that can happen that could put you and others at risk of hurting yourself, getting really sick, or even dying. This is a list of things to look out for when you are in the landfill.
Chemicals There are all kinds of different chemicals that get mixed into the rest of the garbage in the landfill. These chemicals come from companies, stores, hospitals, and even homes like your own! They contaminate the things around them, spreading toxic fumes and liquids on surfaces that they come into contact with. If you are waste picking and come across objects with these symbols:
If you come across something with one of these symbols on it, avoid all contact. It is best to stay away from them and keep your distance from any of the trash that’s around it. If you have gloves, always wear them to prevent harm to yourself and others.
Diseases Landfills are not kept in proper sanitary condition, and so are home to a lot of dangerous things that you can’t see. One of those things is disease. Many times, diseases come to landfills through medical waste. This is trash from major hospitals, labs, and drug companies. Other diseases and viruses come to landfills through the trash itself. Sometimes, rotted food begins to fester which is food for dangerous organisms that are so small they can’t be seen. These invisible germs can attach themselves to the things they come into contact with like your hands or face. It is everyone’s responsibility to prevent the spread of diseases that make us and others sick! When we have access to clean water, one of the most basic ways we can fight diseases is to wash our hands regularly throughout the day. Sometimes, clean water is hard to come by for kids near landfills, though.
If you think kids everywhere deserve clean water, especially kids that live in or around landfills, take action! Write your congressperson to approve funding for unofficial waste collectors!
Environment
One of the many reasons people that pick waste get hurt at dump sites is because of a physical injury they sustained from their environment.
Weather Certain weather conditions make it more dangerous to pick waste in landfills. Days that are windy, rainy, extremely hot or extremely cold are not good days to be in a landfill.
Vehicles A lot of different machines and vehicles operate on a landfill to sort trash and move waste. These are really big and heavy pieces of equipment that can topple over enormous piles of trash or even run over someone if you aren’t careful. Be sure to look and listen for any machines that might be around you.
Wildlife People aren’t the only creatures that might be roaming the dumpsite for goods. Animals too can sometimes find food or shelter within the trash. Always be cautious when moving around a wild animal to not agitate them and avoid getting hurt.
Emotions
People that work in landfills as unofficial waste collectors are often times treated unfairly because of their work. A lot of the times people mistreat them because they don’t understand that, for many waste collectors, there aren’t many opportunities for them to make a living. On top of this, the danger and stress of working in a landfill can wear you down and impact your mental well being. Emotional well-being has real consequences on overall health. Being stressed from mistreatment or your work place can cause real harm to you. Access to mental health professionals can be difficult for unofficial waste collectors, and they might have to go to great lengths in order to speak with a doctor about this issue.
Landfills are massive, and the problems involved with them have been around for generations, so it might seem too hard to feel like you can do anything to improve the way this system works. But you can still help in meaningful ways!
Spreading Awareness On a personal level, one of the simplest things you can do to make things better is by spreading awareness. Writing to government officials, and speaking to your friends, neighbors, and teachers about waste separation will lead to positive change in your community. Awareness is an important first step to get people on board with this issue. Political leaders in your local government and beyond can even fund awareness to broadcast your message to people all over. The more people that participate in helping, can get the work done quicker, leading to greater positive change everywhere!
Government Cooperation You and I can really help out, but we will need help from our government to make sure that the changes we want to see happen on a bigger scale and stay in place for a long time. One thing that you might have already done in this book is feel motivated to write your congressperson. That’s great! You’re becoming involved in a possible solution. Asking our government to take care of and protect unofficial waste collectors will help all of us!
Waste Separation Waste separation means sorting the items you throw away by category of things that can be reused and things that can’t. You may already do this in your home, but be sure to consult the guide in this book to check that everything is properly sorted and organized. Waste separation should also happen outside of the home! Make sure your school, parks, and other favorite places are separating their trash. Bigger companies and organizations need to be on board too, and your actions might help motivate them to get started!
mason jars jelly jars ketchup bottles soda bottles pickle jars car pa
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gas heaters
gutters keys door handle s
pipes sink faucets
yogurt cups soda bottles rinsed out food contain ers butter tubs
Styrofoam is usually used to store food items. It is soft and can be molded into different shapes, but it is NOT recyclable. These are found in stores, and end up in a lot of landfills. They are too thin to be recycled. These are made from cardboard, which is usually recyclable, but it has been contaminated by food grease that makes it NOT recyclable.
Binion, E. (2007) The perception of health with informal recyclers in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Thesis Binion, E. Gutberlet, J. (March 2012), The effects of handling solid waste on the wellbeing of informal and organized recyclers: a review of the literature. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. 18 (1): 43–52. Aziza, A. N. (2019, October 14). The 'world's LARGEST Dump' is in Indonesia and it's a ticking time bomb. Retrieved March 30, 2021, from:https://www.vice.com/en/article/7x54jd/the-worlds-larg est-dump-is-in-indonesia-and-its-a-ticking-time-bomb Boadle, A. (2018, January 19). Brasilia closes Latin America's largest rubbish dump. Reuters. Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-dump/brasilia-clos es-latin-americas-largest-rubbish-dump-idUSKBN1F82VI Buchanan, R. (Summer 2001), pp. 35-39, Human Dignity and Human Rights: Thoughts on the Principles of Human-Centered Design, Design Issues, Vol. 17, No. 3, The MIT Press. Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/1511799 Quirk, V. (2018, November 16). How to design a city for waste. Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://medium.com/sidewalk-talk/how-to-design-a-city-forwaste-6b87897649a1 Barnbrook, J., et. al. (Summer 1999) First Things First Manifesto, Vol. 9, No. 33, Eye Magazine