Environmental problems in developing countries are caused by people occupying the country or region. So lack of education and education that many humans cannot wisely use nature to make ends meet. Many humans ignore the tragedies that have occurred, even when they are the worst – they happen to us as a form of chastisement from nature so that humans can think and make good changes for our earth’s future.
One of the many environmental problems that occur in the rainy season is flooding. Generally, flooding occurs in lowland areas, mainly in big cities. Quoted to Bogor county disaster relief agency, the flood natural disaster was one of the most powerful disasters with records occurring 756 times during the year 2022. And then followed by extreme weather, landslides, and earthquakes.
Any human’s bad habits are the foremost cause of this natural disaster. People used disposable items and threw them away when they were no longer used. Many later feel lazy when asked to recycle refuse – the garbage they produce. We can’t imagine how many sacks of garbage we produce in one week from our home. Plus the sacks of garbage from our neighbors in one complex. Where does that garbage go? It would simply be placed in the final landfill, and few humans could and would choose to recycle was-the waste.
The biggest problem is that many communities are still dumping garbage in the river. Not only until it was sustained, but also the industries’ waste which contains many harmful substances that could harm the animals-animals that live in the river. Understandably, when the rainy season has come, the river water will overflow because it is clogged with garbage-public refuse, so the flooding in the region brings much refuse and filthy water.
A small thing we can do to reduce waste production is by separating organic litter from inorganic trash from our homes. When living in a house that has a garden or a piece of land, we may be able to bury refuse – organic waste in the ground so that we can serve as fertilizer for the soil in our home. But when the condition of our home has no soil or land to bury garbage, then we can use a glass bottle as a container for our organic waste that we can then fertilize.
There is even a way to reuse leftover vegetable garbage from cooking that we can use to make broth which is a valuable ingredient in cooking ingredients. Its manufacture is simple. Simply saute some garlic and onion, and then add seasonings of salt, black pepper, black cumin, cinnamon, and cassia. After we cook, we can filter and take the water, and then we can put it in the cubs’ ice cubes in the freezer, and the fumes we can compost into fertilizer.
Also, we should know that according to the environmental ministry’s data in 2022, 15,2% of the total national garbage is plastic trash. The use of plastic in daily life is very hard to avoid. You know, baggies, shopping bags, drinks, and a lot of merchandise you’re always putting in plastic. And plastic trash belongs in a trash class which is hard to describe. So the best we can do is to carry a tote bag or basket with us as containers for when we purchase groceries of days-day. Switching to iron straws and refusing to use plastic straws are included in one of the attempts to reduce plastic trash.
We can also do the “crap out” move. Sorting garbage – garbage by their kind. You know, drinking bottles, toothpaste, different kinds of bottled caps, plastic plastics ent, et cetera. We can contain it for a few days of garment-no organic waste that we think will be appropriate for charity, then we will wash it clean and dry it first-the garbage before it is donated to an institution ready to receive it. They will process garbage – it becomes a far more useful variety of products.
Not only is the use of baby pampers and sanitary pads included in the extremely difficult recycling of garbage. Most Indonesians use both of these things and throw them straight into the trash can. Not even the pampers and sanitary pads can decompose after hundreds of years. There are now plenty of other alternatives to reduce or avoid the use of pampers and sanitary pads. As in the pampers of fabrics, the menstrual cup, and the urinal cup which they wash and are more environmentally friendly.
But if we are forced to use the two products for our daily needs-day may be because some factors are the reason, we may be more prudent in their use and responsible for their use. We can get rid of that gel in baby pampers and we can use it for the compost fertilizer. After that, we’ll dry the plastic wrap and we’ll burn it when it dries. When we use fabric pampers, sanitary pads or backs cup is much cheaper and money saved than we do with disposable products.
Then another volatile garbage that also often causes a problem for environmental pollution is cooking oil garbage. We know that the use of cooking oil over and over is unhealthy and will bring illness to ourselves and our families. But not too many people know how we’re supposed to take out that cooking oil dump. In Japan, it is forbidden for people to dispose of cooking oil garbage left in liquid form. They had to throw it out cold. It can also be applied in our daily lives-day to avoid contamination. We can use the special powder to freeze the cooking oil, or we can store it in the freezer for a while until it freezes and then we can throw it away.
But if we can’t or if we have difficulty processing the cooking oil, in Indonesia, there is a business service ready to receive the cooking oil garbage and can exchange it for cash for anyone who gives up the cooking oil. This is of course a great help and a great benefit to both sides. They will boil the Fried oil garbage into soaps, aromas therapy, and various other forms of processed products.
Once we know the various bad habits of communities in developing countries and know how we should make changes, then we should start to do them by ourselves. The change will not happen if we do not start moving. When we have been consistent in doing so, we will surely be able to educate others and make far greater changes.
By: Larasati Sekar Arum Sugianto
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