"The dramatic accumulation of trash is the result of human activity and the shutdowns of government agencies responsible for cleaning up waste." This is so broad its true. Thank you for not pointing to one group specifically, I am sick of that crap. (1/https://twitter.com/GuamPDN/status/1330617051455614977 …
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To blame ppl without going deeper is easy. Find the root. Many grew up watching media that reinforces waste &excess. We watch people drinking bottled drinks, having fun, & media never shows the actors throwing their trash away unless its part of the narrative. (4/
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To scapegoat that is just an excuse though. The working class composed of poor migrants & locals, whose household incomes fall below the poverty line already struggle to eke out a living on Guam. More if they're ESL. Who is reaching out to them to educate the adults on waste? (5/
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Do they have time to deal with yet another bill when they can dump the waste where noone is looking? Can they afford it? Does it even matter to them? Guam doesnt make life easy for these people to exist & thrive in harmony with the environment. How best to reach em & teach? (6/
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Norms are mixed. We have locals who grew up on American excess & fast food in to-go bags. Styrofoam plates, aluminum cans part of our childhoods. Poor migrants may have not had this experience. Cant speak to what they're taught culturally but I know mine doesnt address waste (7/
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That's bc our cultures never had to deal with waste bc they didnt have plastic, styrofoam, paper. Excess was frowned upon, "take only what your family needs" was the way. Same with many Indigenous Pacific ppl. Precontact cultures were greatly at odds with capitalism & excess. (8/
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After the U.S. claimed us & with the rapid recent economic expansion in the Pacific, people migrated to places more Westernized for better economic opportunities. Jobs. They came for jobs. Places like Guam. NMI. Hawaii. Anywhere with a trash problem has much deeper problems. (9/
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Why? Bc piling up trash points to capitalism. It means companies make it VERY EASY for you to spend $$ buying their products whereas governments don't make it easy for you to know how to properly dispose of those products. That's if you WANT to dispose your waste responsibly (10/
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I should add that I WISH COMPANIES JUST DIDN'T USE ALL THIS PACKAGING IN THE FIRST PLACE. Ofc, this problem goes deep AND high. The onus is not solely on the consumer, the messaging, & the government. For companies wanting to use less waste, it can be WAY more expensive (11/
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The government is not a clean efficient well-oiled machine. It would be easy to generate less waste if they rewarded companies who use less packaging. Then THEY also would have less of a problem getting rid of said waste. But who controls the govts of the world?? Companies (12/
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To blame locals & migrants for creating so much waste is just blaming the wrong people. Yes they bought the thing & used it & didn't throw it away. Bad person. But our society needs to come to terms with shaming bc shaming the ones @ the bottom doesnt mean changed behavior. (13/
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At the same time holding corporations accountable won't stop people from buying & littering. OH WHAT A TANGLED COLONIZED WEB THIS IS. It's economics, sociology, politics, psychology, marketing, thrown into a dumpster & set on fire by the pandemic. How great. We need more. (14/
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A problem this complicated needs solutions that address ALL aspects to waste. Govt policies need changing. Outreach to children, migrants, locals, in more than just English. Holding corporations responsible. Affordable waste disposal. Promoting sustainable business models. (15/
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Anybody else have thoughts on this? I know I had this tweet half-done & saved in my drafts forever before tweeting but it is important. I'd love to hear from other people on their practices. (16/16)
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End of conversation
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