What's Your Footprint?

Liza Ware 

When was the last time that you consciously threw something away? It’s likely that you rarely put thought into what you put in the garbage, and that is what is leading to the 12,000 tons of waste that the Denver-Arapahoe Disposal Site (DADS) sees everyday.  As one of the largest landfills in the country, they are responsible for handling everything from garbage, to compost and electronic waste. As the garbage begins to pile high, we attempt to cover up our waste with layers and layers of dirt as a way of concealing our impact on the earth.  With an estimated 129 years left until the 425 acre Denver landfill is completely filled, we need to begin to consider how we can change the way that we are disposing of waste and the footprint we will make on our environment. 

Driving into the landfill, I was shocked when I was told that what appeared to be small mountains, were instead tons and tons of trash.  Underneath what appeared to be a natural landmass, was quite the opposite. It was the accumulation of the waste collected in the Denver area over the past several years.  Alternating with layers of trash and dirt, these piles rapidly grow above ground level.  People have become accustomed to the idea that anything unwanted is now trash.  That it may take too much effort to recycle or compost your waste.  Where instead today it’s easier than ever to dispose of your waste in a proper way through single source recycling and convenient compost locations.  However, people still are not doing their part. “It is widely assumed that environmental problems will be solved by technology of one sort or another” (Orr 2).  And although this may be true in the future, we have already begun to destroy our environment through our ignorance with trash.  For now it is up to the people to responsibly dispose of their waste, instead of depending on technology to do it for them.

I chose this picture because as we stood on top of the landfill, and looked out at the mountains, I was in awe of how something known to be so dirty, could be so surreal.  As I looked around, I noticed tons of footprints casually trampling over all of the trash that we had put there, as though we were trying to push our trash further into the ground.  Trying to walk right over all of our harm.  Although it is inevitable that everyone creates waste, it is controllable how much one can consume and dispose.  As a society, we need to begin to reflect on what type of mark we want to leave behind and whether it will be as powerful as a forceful footprint or as peaceful as a feather.

Orr, David W. "Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect. Washington, DC: Island Press, 1994. 224 Pp." (1994). Print.