basura: the ugly bariloche

It is roughly 5km from my house to the downtown area. I almost always walk, there and back. It’s a great time to entertain my inner thoughts, plan, and dream. And the other day I discovered a new route! This route takes me through fields of waist-high bushes of the prickly variety and displays a postcard view of the Andes and the sparkling blue Nahuel Huapi lake. The day was a beautiful partly cloudy and the air had a crisp autumn feeling. I was in a great mood, but there was one problem.

I would like to take this opportunity to talk about... garbage, trash, rubbish, waste.

I think I live in one of the most stunningly beautiful inhabitable places on Earth. We have mountains, forests, and the-bluest-of-blue lakes. We have condors circling overhead, we have edible and non-edible flora, we have picturesque viewpoints. But we also have a garbage problem.

People come to Bariloche for two reasons: 1. to escape civilization and frolic in nature. 2. to make money from people who want to escape civilization and frolic in nature.

What this means is that Bariloche, which was once a quaint small city in the foothills of the gorgeous Andes, has doubled in population in the past 5-10 years. Without official zoning laws, houses-hotels-restaurants-resorts-bars are being constructed daily. And the infrastructure of the city is nowhere near able to deal with the seasonal influx of tourists, retirees, and jobseekers.

With all those people, comes waste. Garbage is everywhere: from the downtown streets, to the lakeshore beaches, to the areas surrounding the city. Plastic supermarket bags, soda bottles, candy wrappers, and construction materials are the most common and the most identifiable. The dump outside the city is visibly overflowing. And the ever-present Patagonian wind picks up what it can and carries it to the low-income neighborhoods and off into the countryside. The very countryside that I walked through yesterday. Garbage. Everywhere. I was appalled.

So I urge, more like plead, those who live in this beautiful environment to re-evaluate certain consumption and garbaging activities. As a first step, I’d like you to look through... your trash.

That’s right. I want you to open up your garbage bag and observe its contents. If you say, eeeew, that’s the first problem. What kind of things are you throwing into the environment? Remember that your waste doesn’t simply disappear when you toss it in the dumpster. It actually goes somewhere.

Once over the initial disgust of opening and looking into your garbage, get down and dirty. What do you find?

Remember organic waste can be composted. Compost is the integration of organic material into soil. Instead of stinking up our dumps with putrid fermentation, veggie scraps and fruit cores can return to the earth without much hassle. Composts can be easily constructed or bought and, once you get into the habit of separating your trash, it can become part of your daily routine. Composts can be any size and can even be an indoor activity. Both my parents now compost in their New York City apartments! I’m so proud! You will not only reducing the amount of waste you create, but you’ll be creating some soil for your garden :-)

What else do you find in your garbage? Bottles? Containers of all kinds? Plastic and glass take a very long time to disintegrate. Ask yourself the following questions:

Can these be recycled? In the US recycling plants exist! Find out what is recycled in your area.

Can I reuse these? Will they serve some other household purpose? Plant pots?! Art projects?!

Can I consume things that don't come in plastic/glass/styrofoam? Can I drink fresh fruit juice instead of sodas? Do I need everything to come in layers and layers of packing material? Are there products with biodegradable packaging? Can I buy locally and reuse containers?

Can I bring my own containers to the store? Egg containers and bulk food stores! Local producers!

Can I buy in larger quantities so I don’t buy too many individual packages? Do I need individually wrapped candies? Do I need single serving packets? Can I buy in bulk and use moderately over time?

Can I make any of this homemade?! Reduce packaging, reduce processing, increase fun and increase tastiness!

When we consciously evaluate our consumption practices we can usually find ways to make a few minor changes that have super productive and positive effects. REDUCE REUSE AND RECYCLE is such an overused phrase that hardly anyone actually stops and thinks that, yea, this could be a good idea. But... think about it... just thinking about how we discard garbage is a step in the right direction. If we can reduce the amount of trash we throw out, that’s another step. We can convince others that perhaps it may be a worthwhile activity to take care of our environment, wow, perhaps we can enjoy our beautiful world a little bit longer.