Recycling thoughts...

So another phase of life starts again – one of slight uncertainty, both for me and the world, from smaller issues, to larger, more significant ones…. Where will I be next? What paths shall I take in 2009 and how will I affect those around me?

Does this really matter at all at a time when the media is reporting generalised economic meltdown? I hear plastic bottles recycling companies in China are closing down due to the fall in demand for packaging made out of recycled plastic – a third degree effect of the economic crash.
Now that’s more something I should be concerned about – and yet there is little I can do, even more so in Goa, where pollution from rubbish and plastic is rife. Basically, there is no organised system at all: general waste, when not burnt, is dumped at specific spots outside the main towns or on the side of the road for public services to deal with. This, I understand, means a regular gathering and burning of rubbish, to make it disappear in one way or the other, thus making space for yet new bin bags. These dumping grounds make a thoroughly scary sight.

Glass and plastic bottles usually get collected by those who so desperately need a few rupees, which they can easily obtain by going round residential areas to collect empty plastic and glass bottles – an effective way to operate indeed.
As for compostable waste, the cows are usually good takers – so far they've been showing some fondness for common kitchen leftovers: papaya skins, pineapple offcuts and the odd bit of rotten veg. Alternatively, they find a way into our gated compound to nibble on the green plants we lovingly water in an attempt to keep the garden as green and lush as it can be. Personally, I prefer feeding them papaya skins....

So I'm a little speck in the wider universe, littered by garbage and waste – if each little speck keeps producing so much of it, we will soon be one big speck wasting away.
If I can make my own personal life and actions a little lighter and shinier, this would be a wonderful achievement already. So whatever happens this year (for me, friends and others), will be nothing else but beautiful. Sheer shining little specks of dust. :-)