Wasteful society

Waste is one of the major environmental concerns in the 21st century, each year, we are generating millions of tons of waste in our homes and communities. Part of that enormous amount of waste is generated through the construction, renovation, and demolition of homes. The most effective way to stop this number from growing, is by preventing waste in the first place, by reducing the amount of materials we use and reuse materials where possible. Recycling stations will be set up in every suburb and purchasing goods made from recycled products are also important strategies.

One of the strategies to minimise waste in our future city is to avoid waste in the first place. By maintaining all goods regularly to maximise the useful life of all materials, systems, and equipment. So that they do not need to be replaced prematurely. For example, have the heating and cooling system regularly serviced at the recommended intervals. Another way we can reduce the amount of waste created in our future city, is to restrict on the number of goods and the amount of food people can purchase at a time. As if people buy too much food at once, it will spoil before people get a chance to eat it. Or have too much in stock, which we don't even get a chance to use them. I'm sure all of us in the 21st century, all have something stored in our storage room which we don't even need. All posters and junk mails should be given through email to minimise the chance of wasting paper. In our future city, there will be rules and notices, specially designed to encourage the citizens to have the awareness of avoiding creating too much waste.

Every citizen in our future city should have a list of questions given by the government, to ask them to think before throwing things away. Think about if this item is still usable? Can it be repaired? Who might I be able to give it to? Consider donating items to schools, libraries, daycares, shelters, care homes, hospitals, doctors' offices or thrift shops. In our future city, most of the products for sale should be reusable or recyclable to minimise the waste to the lowest level. It will be by the law for shopping centres and shops to charge for plastic bags and all forms of wrappers, to encourage citizens to use reusable bags every time they make a purchase. Make the most out of what you have now should be encouraged at all times.

Recycling will be one of the major focuses of our future city, as it requires only a small amount of time, saves money, reduces waste and energy, and also creates more jobs than waste disposal in landfill. In Australia, over 30% of what goes to landfill is actually recyclable. It will be compulsory for our future city citizens to have recycling bins at home, and it would be encouraged for citizens to report to the council, if they see a shop that do not have a recycling bin. All buildings in our future city should be made up of at least 50 percent of recycled materials. Information evenings will be held every month for citizens to learn about the importance of recycling and how to recycle useful waste. All possible actions will be made to maximum the benefit of recycling and reduce the amount of useful waste in the landfill.

Recycling centres will be set up in every suburb, to ensure that citizens have easy access to the information they needed or drop off materials that can be recycled. It is crucial for citizens to know informations such as recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of waters 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, and 4,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, and this is only the tip of an iceberg.

Make own garden compost can recycle most of the organic household and garden waste and enrich the garden soil at the same time. In our future city, there will be a public garden in the city centre that welcomes everyone to compost their organic household wastes.

Approximately two-thirds of our household waste can be composted. If compost is not an option, composting with worms is popular in apartment settings. Additionally, many urban areas are now experiencing an increased interest in urban gardening. Look around your communities and neighbourhoods to find local gardens that may accept your food scrapes for compost.

When you go to the grocery store, try to remember to bring reusable bags. Many stores give you credits for bringing your own bags. While the amount seems small, over the course of a year it can add up.