Archive for liepos 2018

Well, well. This topic has been talked about so many times, that it has become rather boring. Despite this, we are facing extremely seriuos issues. Ecological/environmental ones. ,,Oh, wait, this article already feels kind of boring, mainstream and far from original. It is not very artistic to write about this. Too shallow and down-to-Earth. I mean, yeah, there might be some issues, I‘ve seen a few short videos and pitiful posts about waste on facebok by some weird activists, but there is not enough depth there, it is the inside that counts and my super deep, vast feelings and psychological problems, also erudition. I mean ecology is a thing that everyone talks about, but I do not really see the problem so maybe it does not exist (just like global warming, right, Mr. Trump?). So what that I throw something here and there? I as an individual won‘t change anything and in general it is not convenient to live sUstAiNabLy. I‘d rather use two tones of plastic for my art installation. Because it is art. And also I am a free independent person, who can do whatever I want. Right?“ wrong. So wrong.

Everyone wants to talk either about something very shallow, either about deep stuff. Or not to talk at all. Because environment issues are unpleasant. There are countries, where people not only live among trash, but don‘t even have basic necessities like clean air or water. That is why we, lithuanians are very privileged. I assume you have heard about terrible things like great pacific garbage patch, which is twice as big as the state of Texas. Or that plastic straws and bags litterally kill marine fauna. Us humans choose them due to their convenience and cheapness. After single use, there is no need to wash an item like this, because when it is thrown away, it simply... disappears? Not quite right. Nothing that we buy and discard disappears. We simply do not see a further life (which is long) of our trash. So without bothering ourselves (pay attention to the pronouns I use) we throw (un)used items to the trash bins and are happy when they are gone. We remain clean, pure, sterile, free. Imagine if they all ended up in your flat/yard/room. It would probably not be nice to live in such conditions among the hills of glass/metal/plastic waste. Oh course, the latter one is the worst because only a few kinds of plastic can be recycled.

The price is also a strong psychological factor that is why people are tend to buy many single-use plastic bottles instead of a sustainable one. Here, in Lithuania, we might not have so many trash to worry about this because we do not produce as much waste as countries with a higher population but, according to standarts of ecology, we are somewhere in the back of the list. In the forests, near the lakes, you can find all kinds of used packaging and recycling is also not one of our greatest strengths.

It is quite interesting to observe how poeple act in Lithuania, in terms of waste. I noticed that few poeple want to take responsibility for their waste, most just have an approach ‘‘one piece of trash won‘t change anything‘‘, but when a lot of people have this attitude towards their waste... well this does not end well. It is funny (well, more like sad) to observe how people behave. In a beautiful field near Vilnius a while ago I saw discarded old tires. Clearly, someone was too lazy to properly take care of their trash. But guess what? Over time, not only has someone tidied up the area, but even more tires and rubbish bags have appeared. Nice, huh? Also, even though it looks strange, many people still refuse to pay for their garbage pick-up and without worrying throw their rubbish to a hole in the ground somewhere in the forest. Even nicer, huh? I also noticed that few people understand the price (not in euros) and damage of the plastic because since soviet era some people (especially older ones) still associate it with comfort and better life. Why after such horrors, suffering, living in a small apartament with a bunch of other people, not having fancy food, they have to give up something this cheap and convenient and making their life easier?

In Lithuania we do not really know what means piles of garbage because we have never seen someting like that. Well, during the ,,gReAt crisis of garbage in Vilnius“ they might have felt something closer to it but not quite that. This so-called crisis did not help people to realise the amount of trash we throw away. There were complaints about discomfort but if you do not really like a huge pile of your trash near your house maybe it is time you put effort to make it smaller? In general, we are so afraid of contact, non-sanitary conditions and bacterias that we turn to the almighty plastic. We want to live sterile but we ourselves are quite far from sterile.

Now how about the rest of the world? The situation there is even more terrifying. Beautiful paradise-like beaches in Asia that have now been turned into landfills, smog in the cities of China, India, where people in slums live among trash. Despite the fact that we do not see the issue in Lithuania right now, we do not know what awaits us in the future.It is scary to even think how our future generations will live because we have already turnt a lot of places among the globe into areas of smoking chimneys, landfills, cars, noise and buildings.

But do not be mistaken and think that I am some kind of a saint myself who lives a zero waste lifestyle. I do my best (usually) not to buy food in a single-use plastic packaging, to sort my waste, use more nature-friendly products but it is not the easiest thing to do in Lithuania and I rarely successfully avoid plastics. Also, I adore film photography, which is not the most eco-friendly way to take photos. However, I have some information to share but again, I am no expert here. I was encouraged by a few movies, articles, youtube videos and some remarkable individuals representing zero-waste and/or minimalist lifestyle. I admire them for being able to refuse the easiest, most convenient way to live and put all their belongings into a carry-on suitcase or put all of their five years worth unrecycleble trash in a jar. I admire them but I do not have such a strong will to adopt this lifestyle myself and I also have a lot of sentiments for unnecesarsy stuff. Accessibility of stores that sell products in bulk or unpackaged is poor too. In fact, as far as I am concerned, there is only one store like this in Vilnius, however the
prices there are pretty high.

not my pictures but pretty powerful ones

Anyway, here are a few (umm a lot of) things, which can and should be done by every person (including me) in order to improve the quality of the environment and life. I will share some easy suggestions:

Don‘t use polyethylene bags, esspecially in supermarkets for fruits and vegetables. Polyethylene does not decompose and often ends up in landfills and oceans.
Buy unpacked fruits and vegetables (and other products like bread) because most of them already have natural protection, which is called peel.
Put your groceries in a reusable fabric bag (like tote bag). Bonus – you will look like some sort of a youthful artsy (pseudo)hipster.
Instead of buying single-use plastic bottles of water, invest in a good reusable BPA free water bottle, which does not have harmful particles and saves both the planet and your health (and wallet).
Boycott for plastic straws. I repeat, boycott for plastic straws (together with polyethylene bags). It is an extremely poluting product that is kind of useless and can easily be given up. In cafes/bars just ask not to put a straw in your drink and also cover it with your hand if you see a bartender reaching for one. For straw lovers I suggest buying reusable metallic ones.
Reduce the consumption of single-use coffee cups. In general, I think it is wise to think twice whether coffee is that necessary. If it is, ask barista to make your dark fuel into a normal cup or in your thermo cup.
Theoretically, everyone changes their toothbrush every two months. This way, one person uses six toothbrushes per year. Now think about seven billion people. Quite a lot, huh? Toothbrush is a pretty necesary item, so it is kind of impossible to ditch it (I mean, you can if you want to) but I strongly suggest you to buy eco-friendly compostable bamboo toothbrushes. However, you have to put some extra effort if you want to find 100% biodegradable one as most shops in Lithuania only sell bamboo toothbrushes with plastic bristles.
Use soap bar instead of a shower gel in a plastic bottle. Bonus points if also use a shampoo bar.
Thrift your clothes (that means buying in second-hand stores). It has become quite fashionable in Lithuania and it is amazing (although due to this popularity the prices are getting higher) and a lot of youth buy their garments in second-hand stores, especially Humana. This shopping way is great as it saves money and nature, is stylish and unique (you won‘t have to tremble about seeing another person in the same H&M dress as you). Clothing industry is a huge terrible machine that uses women and children labour without paying them a proper salary and also polutes the environment. We are still lucky that prices in vintage stores are rather low because in Amsterdam or Reykjavik you would pay about 20 euros for a simple dress. Update: I went to Humana in Vilnius today expecting to get a nice dress. Indeed, I found one... for 16 f***ing euros. I take my words back. It is still better to shop second hand though.
Use real towels instead of paper ones.
Do not throw garbage anywhere except for special trash bins.
Try to use your items as long as possible and reuse if it is possible.
Sort out your trash and recycle items that can no longer be used.
Use public transport, cycle or walk instead of driving.
Use and consume less, think like five times before buying something.
If you accidentally end up in a government, try to change the laws because authorities are someone whose decisions have the biggest impact. (hats off to Kerala High Court for a total plastic ban and other countries who are really close to it)