Happy Earth Day!
This year for Earth Day I went up to Black Point Dump aka Mt.Trashmore. As the highest point in Miami, it really is like a little mountain. Before now, I had only ever seen it from the bay, and I was curious about what it would be like up close.
One of the few pictures I was able to take
I thought I would be able to just walk in and take a look around, but when I asked, they immediately told me no. So, I had to go in “semi-undercover.” I had a box of things I had planned on donating to Goodwill. And even though I hated throwing these items away instead of giving them a new life, I sacrificed them for the sake of research.
One of the first things you need to know about the landfill is that everything is measured by weight. They weigh your car when you arrive, and then they weigh your car when you leave. The difference is what you end up paying for.
The second thing you need to know is that you are required to wear an orange vest while on the property. I didn’t have one, so sadly, I had to purchase a cheap plastic one just to drive up. I couldn’t believe it, just another unnecessary waste of plastic. But I had no choice.
When I stop and think about it, I feel like I constantly run into this scenario: there’s just no other choice. You want those strawberries, right? Well, they come in plastic. Bread? Plastic again. Herbs, spices, rice, blueberries, basil, etc. Almost everything comes in plastic, and it’s not like we really get a choice. And the part that really gets me is that no one seems to care. Everyone just looks away; it’s become so normalized and makes me so incredibly sad. But here I am doing it to cause what choice I have.
So here I am driving up, and the first thing I see if this huge mountain of tires. The closer I get, the more it hits me. We did this. We made this disgusting mountain of garbage. The further I drive in, the more unbearable the smell becomes. I felt like it was all over me. When I got home, I took a long shower, and I still couldn’t get the smell out of my nose.
The entire time I was there, the people who worked there followed me around. Maybe it was my electric car that gave them a hint, but it seems like they knew I wasn’t their regular type of customer. They told me I wasn’t allowed to take pictures, and they made sure I didn’t.
Mountains and mountains of tires
I guess they don't want the public to know where our trash goes. I'm not even if people did that it would change much. But the fact that the government is always trying to hide everything from the public is concerning. Don't we as citizens deserve the right to know where our trash goes? Did you know that our recycling program in Miami-Dade doesn't even exist? Yes, that's correct. Those blue bins… they just go into a different landfill.
I don't really want to be all doom and gloom cause Earth Day is a day we should be celebrating our beautiful Planet, but if we don't reduce our waste now and make the right choices with our actions and the things we buy, I think our reality will end up looking more like Mt.Trashmore Everyone needs to take a drive up there. Do it for yourself… do it for your kids.
Happy Earth Day.
If you want to know what you can do to reduce your impact on our planet, check out the following links for more information, and remember, education is one of the most important tools we have!
An Overview from World Wildlife Fund
Reduce your use of single-use plastics
