According to StatCan, “In 2008, Canadians sent 25,871,310 tonnes of solid waste for disposal (777 kilograms per capita), a 7% increase over 2002.” For more info about waste in Canada and how it affects everything, click here.
In 2009, “The total amount of waste generated in the City of Ottawa averages approximately 860,000 tonnes per year. Of this between 30% to 40% is from the residential sector and 60% to 70% from the IC&I sector (including C&D Waste).” According to the City of Ottawa report found here.
That’s a lot.
It’s so much I don’t even understand the numbers.
All I know is that it’s a lot. Year after year. And year after year a lot of this ends up in the rivers, lakes and oceans. I mean, we all know about the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”
And what our things do to the marine life.
None of this is meant to make anyone change, but it would be awesome if somehow it did.
Change is crazy and it’s scary. And it’s overwhelming.
I’m so overwhelmed by everything I can’t even function properly. There is a huge part of me that has no idea how to move forward, except I know I have to take it one day at a time.
As a business owner, it is affecting how I want to do business. Which is great and it’s not at the same time. All of these ideas which I thought were great, that I thought I wanted to do, I don’t want to anymore. And it means, facing the fear of what people will think of me. It means accepting the fact that I have changed and that it’s ok.
But, it makes me question whether or not I’m really a good business owner. It makes me question whether or not I’m a good leader. It makes me question whether or not I’m doing the right thing. It makes me question whether or not I will be “successful” (and by this I mean financially successful) in Life. It makes me fearful of what my future looks like.
It makes me question all of these things.
But it makes me pretty excited at the same time. I don’t know where any of this will take me. But I do know it feels really good to give away so much of my unnecessary items. It makes me feel really good when I can go to the store and know that what I am purchasing won’t end up in the landfill.
I just need to overcome my doubts, get over my fears and keep moving because really all of that is just a pile of rubbish.
Zero Waste Ottawa 