Have you ever heard of “Trash Walker”! A trash walker is someone who goes through waste or discarded materials, often in public spaces like dumpsters, trash cans.
Anna Sacks, a 32-year-old environmentalist, aka The Trash Walker, her journey began after quitting her job as an investment banker to join a regenerative farming program, which brings her focus on the importance of sustainable living.
If you have watched the documentary “Buy Now”, you will know how important it is to put the spotlight on the trash. Big companies dump all their unusable products rather than give them to the people who are in need. Yes, it can be a choice if you would like to do it or not, but harming the environment is not the only choice that you can make. It's not the right thing to do, as an individual or even as a company or organization.
Anna tracks the trash and what she found is totally unbelievable. Even the eateries' items are dumped one day prior to their expiry date just to protect the image of their brand or, in some cases, to avoid more loss. "So-called Brand Identity”.
From furniture, toys, food, even tech products get dumped every year. E-waste and fast fashion are both strongly contributing to this; about 14 million tonnes (it can be more but not less than that). The reason is the demand for creating new products for your customers, so they can't reuse phones like the latest version, and the old version is now dusted. It is not just with iPhones, it is with any electronics industry, and the fast fashion industry, like clothing, is not doing anything good as well. Approximately 100 billion new clothing items are produced each year by the fashion industry now.
You know about the things that you shop, but do you know what happens to all the stuff you don't buy? Think about it!
Anna Sacks once asked her audience on social media, “Have you ever worked for a corporation that made you destroy usable items that could otherwise be donated? And the response was in huge people coming forward and sharing their experiences. #RetailMadeMe.
Anna’s mission is to raise awareness about consumerism, waste reduction and sustainability. She now serves as the Legislative Chair for the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board and advocates for systemic change in waste management.
With her initiative, how strongly she has inspired all the people who are watching her, and she also makes all of us understand how we, as people and consumers, hold the power to protect our city, country and our world. We have the power to call out companies and make them take actions not just their ads and marketing campaigns, but through their actions through their products, policies, and management.