The Papaya Journey

Papaya is right…

The moment I finish my breakfast, I completely stop thinking about what’s left of my fruit. For the longest time, the leftover fruit was just useless garbage that I would throw away without giving it a second thought. However, in the past few days, I have been paying close attention to all the waste that I generate in my daily life, and it has been an eye-opening experience. I was fully aware of my spending and consuming habits, so I wasn’t surprised about some types of rubbish I produce, like plastic wrappers, etc. I think it’s awful that we have normalized the use of plastic, which is such a strong, elastic, and endurable material; for disposable products. This type of planned waste it’s everywhere and is extremely difficult to avoid. So, I was ready to see and study that type of trash.

However, this past week, where I have paid closer attention to the garbage my family generates, I have realized a hard truth. There was a type of waste that I produce almost every day that I have never taken into consideration. These were the fruit scraps that are leftovers from my breakfast. Almost every morning, I eat chocolate oatmeal with fruits, usually papaya and kiwi. I thought that because I didn’t buy the typical supermarket fruit that is wrapped in plastic or some form of wrapper, I wasn’t producing trash. I usually buy my fruit from a small typical corner store, where it is more “natural” and doesn’t have any unnecessary cover that could become trash. Nevertheless, what I fail to realize is that every day I throw away the parts of the fruit that are not edible, and that would mix with the rest of the trash on the garbage can. And, among all the fruits, papaya is the one that leaves the most amount of leftovers, because it contains a big amount of seeds and skin.

Before this week, I didn’t quite grasp the true impact that my “natural” and “ethically source” fruit had on my waste production. Once I finish my breakfast, I stop thinking about papaya and the other parts of the fruits that are on the trashcan. After that, the only time I think about it is when I have to take out the trash and the bag is leaking some type of disgusting liquid on my floor, which is usually the result of squished fruits. Once the trash is out of my house, it practically disappears. Nonetheless, that doesn’t happen in real life, all those fruit scrapes end up in huge garbage dumps. It doesn’t matter that it is an “organic” residue it still contributes to the problem, especially when it is mix with the normal type of trash.

This is a great example of why people have trouble grasping the huge problem is garbage in general. When it is out of the house, we stop thinking about it and believe that it is no longer our problem. But, sadly, it is. All our decision and actions have consequences, including the “innocent” ones, like eating delicious papaya. This day I invite you to observe your family trashcan and analyze the impact that every object has, no matter how big or small it is.

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