Introduction
Linor David
Waste. We know we have a problem with it. We are living in a society that values consumption; looking for the cheapest and most convenient products. The result of our disposable lifestyle is waste.
In September 2022, students from Centennial College’s Community Development Work Program did a deep dive into the topic of waste. They began their Sustainable Community Development class with a challenge to not produce any waste for a week. Students started bringing their thermoses to school, their reusable shopping bags to the store, and their Tupperware to take out places. But in reflection we realized it was hard, almost impossible, to get to zero waste.
While some waste is obvious—like coffee cups in garbage cans—other types of waste are harder to see. What remains of the cheap clothes we throw away? Where do broken cell phones end up? What happens to all those disposable medical masks?
As a class we dug into these topics and produced a book exploring six different dimensions of waste: fashion, plastics in the ocean, e-waste, food waste, sewage, and medical waste. Small groups of students worked on each topic and came back together to teach each other about what they were learning. The class was made up of students from around the world, and so they researched the topic of waste in Canada, but also drew on their experiences to research the topics globally in countries like the Philippines, India, and China. Students also highlighted one article per topic that brought new perspectives to their research.
Each chapter illuminates both the problems that exist, and also the sustainable and innovative solutions that are being found. In the spirit of collaboration, these chapters were edited and published by students in the Centennial College Publishing Program and the Open Educational Resources (OER) Lab.
We hope these chapters get you thinking about some of the impacts of our lifestyle and inspire you with the ways in which people are tackling these problems.
Linor David BSc, MEd
Professor of Community Development
Centennial College
April 27, 2023
