Are we doomed to be buried in mounds of trash
we can no longer recycle, a child's entire plastic
nursery, dumped into the rolloff on an island
least able to cope with more landfill, parents
likely overwhelmed with the stress of parenting,
too tired or zoned to conceive of other solutions;
donate to a nearby preschool or thrift shop,
these items hardly used;
Plastic packaging in giant plastic bags,
a broken down microwave the one-armed man
struggled to cast into a paper and plastic recycling bin
in Santa Fe, and I offered to take it, try to repair
what must be a small thing, red and shiny
it looked, as the disposed-of toys in the rolloff,
nearly new, and yet after a few hours, we gave up,
can usually fix anything but not this,
and where can we recycle for parts anymore?
How can humans not think of the impact on an
already stressed planet, and there are solutions,
but big money does not go there, no manufacturer
wants to instill sustainable solutions, obsessed
with profits and not people who die on factory lines
in Asia somewhere, children among them,
as the rubbish mounds beyond boundary fences,
blowing out onto highways, carelessly cast
out of car windows, choking storm drains
in typhoon countries, nobody thinking
about picking it up, and though we always carry
large bags to gather what and when we can,
it is always replaced by more;
Are we simply waiting until we can no longer
breathe, as trash pickers are rushed away
by patrolling police, it's a mad mess
on this glorious orb, and we are spinning
out of control, lost in this dance of materialism,
acquisition still favored over use and reuse
as we did when I was young, when there was
no such thing as single use plastic, and we had
trucks drop by to pick up newspaper
not donated in paper drives in school, metal,
glass, garbage disposals managing food scraps;
How is it that in a mere six decades
we witness these changes, impacting earth and air
and our precious waterways, where someone recently
took the trouble to travel thirteen miles
up the mountain to where we live to dump
a large-screen TV in the icy river?
So true! And that’s why Mother Earth starts afresh after a million years… sometimes less. That’s how only she survives!
Yes, we awoke to that fact after viewing Sir David Attenborough’s ‘Planet Earth.’ I really wish humans would wake up though. 🙏💕
So true, Bela! Something has to give. Mother Earth will not ignore our atrocities against her! Actually, since we are part of Nature, this is self-harm. The only (possible?) beneficiaries being the powerful, the gangster politicians and their bankers.
Good point, Ashley! Self harm it is! To the gangsters as well. They can only hide behind their piles of money for so long. But if we wait for them to wake up, I’m afraid it might be too late. We are going to have to take this to the community level and begin there. And today. Not a moment to waste.
Thanks for weighing in. 🙏❤️
A huge problem to be sure. We need ‘cradle to grave’ manufacturing laws, but unlikely in corporate America. 🙁
Agreed. I heard somebody say a while ago while we were at the recycling center in Santa Fe that corporations ought to pay to pick up and recycle packaging that they produce. Unlikely is right, but it would be the right thing to do. Or for heaven sake, package in sustainable materials!! so much the better 🙏😂💕
People can start by just not buying more (new) things. And looking for places to donate or recycle what they don’t need. No doubt technology has multiplied our possessions markedly. But we have far too much stuff, all of us. (K)
Agreed. I shop in thrift stores when I need something they offer like clothing. And for everything I bring home I swear, I donate five. I think it’s a product of age as well, I just don’t need to collect stuff! And I agree, we could all do more of clearing out and recycling or donating. And now to tackle grocery packaging issues! 🙏💓
That’s a big one.
Absolutely.