Now, I have about one every three days. I got really good about saving and re-using things. For example, I reuse glass jars that had jelly in them to store leftover soup, and sometimes I’ll make my own jelly and store it in them too. I also save all my plastic soda bottles. The locals here like to reuse them to store oil and juice.
In the United States, garbage trucks come to our homes and take our waste to landfills. In rural Ghana, garbage trucks do not come to most villages. There are no big trash systems to collect garbage. Because of this, families must take care of their own trash. If trash is left out, it can attract animals, cause bad smells, and make people sick.
Burning trash is one of the only ways people can keep their community clean. Our drinking water also comes in plastic bags, which adds to the waste. This is because bottles are very expensive, so using small plastic bags makes this everyday essential affordable. Many kids will save the plastic water sachets and bundle them together to make a mini soccer ball. I am saving all of mine to weave into a soccer net!
There is still a need to improve community trash collection and disposal methods. Waste can often get consumed by animals or pollute water sources. That said, Ghanaians are very good at reusing and repurposing things that most Americans just throw away.
