A Better Future For A Trashy State

Within the past few months at an outlying grocery store that has allowed the use of plastic bags, I had an epiphany that many of these people were leaving the city limits so that they would not have to change their usage of plastic bags. No doubt the use of reusable bags increased as well, but it became evident that making environmental change is hard for many people. Hard or not, Texans need to be encouraged to make that change and over time Texas needs to be a state that is the example of zero waste. This issue of getting people to change their habits and the way they see their interaction with the environment is one of paramount importance.  

In this next legislative session Texas needs to develop legislative policy to support zero waste. Zero waste is a goal to guide people to design and manage products so that we can avoid and remove the amount and the toxicity of waste and materials, and rid all discharges to land, water, or air that are a threat to planetary life. By supporting such a goal Texans would eliminate trash that is currently sent to landfills and is incinerated.

Currently most major cities in Texas have recycling programs and the state executed a law that requires cities to have a recycling program for paper.  This mandate, however, is not enough. Even Austin, the “greenest” city in Texas, only has 24% of the people using the recycling programs.  By implementing a state policy Texas could become a leader in creating zero waste and an example of implementing innovative solutions for more sustainability.

One sure way for improving the current situation is through education. The Texas Legislature would be doing the state a huge service by legislating education and recycling programs statewide and by making it more convenient to recycle. If current programs are not working then a task force could be put into place so that communities could improve what they are doing or find a better way to accomplish the task at hand.

For every 10,000 tons of solid waste going to landfills one job is created. That same amount of waste kept out of landfills could create between 10 – 75 recycling jobs. By employing and legislating for a zero waste policy, Texas could affect positive change not only for the state, but it could set an example for the rest of the United States.