BFIS GAZETTE issue 1 | Page 15

What is the Quality of the Earth Nowadays? Is our world suffering due to our selfish actions? Every year, the world as a whole dumps a massive amount of 2.12 billion tons of waste. This incredible amount of waste is sometimes recycled but more often that not is dropped into the oceans were it disintegrates by the sun’s rays and becomes food for plankton which are consumed by fish which are eaten by humans and the like. The main reason for this amount of waste being released into the world is due to consumerism. Consumerism is the selfish and almost frivolous collecting of products or materials. In this sense, consumerism is negative and harmful to the earth as it results in the continuous release of waste into the oceans. 99 percent of the stuff we buy is thrown away after around 6 months, seen in examples such as the increase of old phones being thrown out when a new iphone comes out. Consumerism is a societal issue that may have no answer but the companies themselves may be able to aid in this earth devastating issue. Many leading companies are choosing to switch to making products with the idea of producing zero-waste. Zero waste is the philosophy that encourages the redesign of products so that all products can be reused. This process of redesign is similar to the way that many resources are reused in nature.