Posts tagged trash

Found at the beach in Senggigi, Lombok, Indonesia. Everything here is so naturally beautiful - but there’s rubbish everywhere which spoils it so, so much.

Submitted by Genevieve

How clean is your house? Are you a neat freak? Sloppy? Lazy? Do you leave a pile of dirty dishes on the sink for a week? 

I’m fortunate enough to be spending time in Hawaii right now and I absolutely love it here. It really is the closest thing to paradise I’ve ever seen. However as I was walking along the beach today picking up other peoples rubbish and filth, I couldn’t help but assume that there must be a large amount of the population who have adopted the attitude of treating the planet like their own personal lounge room. I mean why else would you throw rope into the ocean? Or leave a plastic bottle on the sand? Is your mum going to come along later on and pick it up like she must do at home? Is the cleaning lady going to vacuum around your feet as you sunbake on the beach? Will you pick it up next week when you finally wash the dishes?

The amount of rubbish that washes up on the beaches of Hawaii from all over the world astounds me. It really highlights how important it is that each piece of rubbish ends up in the bin - you just don’t know how far your piece of litter will travel when you throw it on the ground. It could end up in Hawaii - weeks, months, years later - potentially damaging nature or injuring wildlife along the way. It’s so simple and yet so many people seem to be struggling with the concept. 

But anyway. Here is the loot that I picked up off the beach in Hawaii today. 

I hope that I inspired others on the beach to do the same and together we can keep it looking this good all the time. I feel happy that I got all this off the beach, knowing that I may have just prevented damage or harm to wildlife, people and nature. It’s not much, but it’s something. And if EVERYBODY helped, we wouldn’t have this problem in the first place.

Yes, graffiti can be an eyesore. However I couldn’t help but smile when I spotted this on a telephone pole today during my daily treasure hunt. The perfect reminder of why I am on this mission in the first place - to get the population thinking about the impact they have on the planet, and how to work together for change.

But it got me thinking. What does it mean to put the PLANET BEFORE PROFIT? Is it solely aimed at the invisible and anonymous CEO’s of major companies? Or is it aimed at everyday people like you and me? Is the definition of “PROFIT” limited to just making money, or does it also mean convenience, laziness, ignorance? To me, PROFIT is any kind of personal gain at the planet’s expense. Driving, clothes dryers, plastic bags, littering, upgrading to the ‘newest model’ phone, computer, television every time one comes out. ALL examples of convenience, laziness and PROFIT. Every decision you make affects the planet. Every time you PROFIT through one of these things, the planet suffers.

I believe we are all faced with choices everyday in which we can choose to put the planet before profit. The responsibility lies with every single one of us and there is no excuse for not participating.

If you don’t need to drive to the corner store, WALK. If you have the time, DINE-IN at the restaurant and save the packaging used by TAKE AWAY. If the weather is sunny, use a clothes LINE, not a clothes DRYER. And most importantly, if you see LITTER on the ground, please pick it up.

PLANET BEFORE PROFIT

PLANET BEFORE CONVENIENCE

PLANET BEFORE LAZINESS

PLANET BEFORE SELFISHNESS

If you have found a treasure or have something you would like to share, please click Share Your Treasure! or email talkintrashblog@gmail.com