How much waste do people really create?
This series of photographs from artist Gregg Segal tries to make us think about exactly that. The photos show family, friends and individuals surrounded by the amount of trash they create in just seven days.
That’s one week’s worth of trash. Suddenly seems like quite a lot, doesn’t it?
Segal spoke to Salon about the series of images, saying, “Obviously, the series is guiding people toward a confrontation with the excess that’s part of their lives. I’m hoping they recognize a lot of the garbage they produce is unnecessary.”
“It’s not necessarily their fault,” he continued. “We’re just cogs in a machine and you’re not culpable really but at the same time you are because you’re not doing anything, you’re not making any effort. There are some little steps you can take to lessen the amount of waste you produce.”
According to 1 Million Women, Australians produce almost 4.1 million tonnes of rubbish each year. That’s 1.9 tonnes from every person.
If you want some tips on how to reduce waste, have a look at these ideas from Clean Up Australia.
Did you find the images confronting? Do you think they might make people think about their waste habits?
Top Comments
I work at a fast food restuarant where they don't even bother to recycle the cardboard and paper packaging :"(
I tried to ask them if we could have recycle bins but they said no :"(
I understand that is because cardboard and paper that is greasy or food soiled is considered contaminated and cannot be recycled.
So, for example, you cannot recycle a pizza box but you can recycle the cardboard box your cereal came in.
It looks pretty bad really, no matter if some of it's recyclable. What is even more confronting is the fact that the pacific ocean has some huge trash islands floating about. As a species, we should be really ashamed of that.