Project 2 - Critical Perspective

Trash is found everywhere. Almost every city on earth has some form of trash problem. But have you ever stopped and looked at trash before? What may appear to be trash could in fact be treasure. Not necessarily valuable in a financial sense, but valuable in a practical sense. "One man's trash is another man's treasure" a saying that is often quoted when discarding rubbish that could have a potential use to somebody, is a famous quote for a reason. For someone who is not privileged to have a roof over their head, an old blanket, or even a piece of cardboard can be very beneficial to them, providing needed warmth. In third world countries where access to clean water can be next to impossible, a plastic cup that someone has thrown away after lunch could be used to collect rain water. These are just two of many examples where trash can be treasured, dependent on the user. Ben Young's article "Treasure, Not Trash" brings to light the growing trash problem that with the lack of recycling we are wasting millions of dollars on maintaining and creating landfills. "This is all gold. This is a gold mine," "Think of a landfill not as an eyesore but as a source for new industry - and we can do it. These are untouched territories with big potential." Referring to mountains of recyclables that are being tossed in the trash landing up in landfills. These items of trash could be recycled or even reused by people instead of being thrown in the trash, when in reality it is not trash.


Young, B. (2013). Treasure, not trash. Georgia Trend, 28(12), 38. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1428534549?accountid=14782