Saving every piece of trash for a week definitely forces you to take responsibility for the amount of waste you’re producing. This is because the actual scale of waste is in front of you and you’re forced to confront this footprint. My awareness of how much plastic and paper I was going through definitely began to effect how much I was using. I would opt out of getting a plastic bag at the grocery store or when I was running errands and use a tote instead. This was because I felt guilty for how much I was using but also because I didn’t want to carry it around. Being forced to literally carry the amount of waste you’re going through and not being able to run away from it is something I don’t think anyone is used to. People are very comfortable with pushing environmental issues aside and assuming someone else is working on it and this is what they do with their trash as well. If you accidentally liter you think, “oh well it’s only one cup!” But this is the level of dissociation that most have which creates the problems we have today.
When I composed this shot first I washed and folded everything. I used the “Thank you, have a nice day!” bag as a centerpiece and everything else rotates around it. I tried to make this composition more artistic by using mood lighting that I have in my dorm. The color ties everything together and makes it looks like one piece.
