By Mark Peterson
If you’re like me and you have been working remotely there seems to be the constant battle for all kinds of bandwidth. Internet bandwidth is at a premium and with both my wife and I working and togging between Zoom and Team virtual meetings, my three kids finishing various levels of remote schoolwork and of course the ever-present battle with the biggest data hog of all – the Xbox. Negotiating and sometimes haggling over when and who get what is a constant nowadays.
But internet bandwidth isn’t the only type of bandwidth that seems to be in short supply. There is so much going on in our world with Black Lives Matter, COVID -19, budget cuts, 2020 elections and climate change all looming large. I’ve been struggling to set priorities lately because ALL of these challenges are important and each in their own way. Finding ways to address each at the proper time and with the appropriate amount of effort feels daunting.
It’s feels a bit odd to share that I’m finding some security settling into what was once a more familiar routine and thinking about all things Toward Zero Waste. I guess this has provided me somewhat of an escape and break from things so deep and complex as systemic racism and a dastardly virus running rampant globally. For me, the reality remains we need to find the strength, courage and perseverance to keep on keeping on and not let things that are also important fall by the wayside completely.
This brings me back to the importance of maintaining a focus on robust Toward Zero Waste practices and forward-thinking strategies. The COVID -19 crisis has greatly exacerbated our waste disposal problems. Massive amount of single use PPE are disposed of every day and much of it improperly. In a recent article it was estimated that disposable face masks will outnumber jellyfish in the near future if the current rate continues of improper disposal by the public continues. Some plastics manufactures are using the COVID – 19 crisis as a way to sneakily roll back important environmental legislation that took decades to get in place. Our planet and humanity can’t afford a return to a throw everything away a society.
We need to remain vigilant in protecting our environment and doing the smart things to reduce waste. Like many things being conscious of waste and waste reduction and taking action is harder right now. My sincere hope is we can all find the bandwidth to continue to push for progress for the things that will make our world a better place in the future – including working Toward Zero Waste.