Triple Bottom What?

"If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed."

-Admiral William McRaven

This isn't a brag post. Or a humble-brag, whatever the heck that means. Last month I decided to do an experiment for the sake of curiosity. I wondered how much trash could I passively collect in one month (28 days, actually, because February is such a rebel hipster). Anyway, I'm going to Tarantino this like Pulp Fiction. Five bags. Five packed-to-the-seam bags is the answer.

Before you get too weirded out, congratulations on making it this far and staying with me on this magical mystery tour. You have discipline and curiosity, and I like that! Instead of scrolling past to the next motivational quote of the day that you'll forget three seconds later, you're here reading something unique. I'm also a curious guy; I'm not out to save the world or lavish in other's filth. I just wanted a basic idea of how much waste I would otherwise walk by on a daily basis, because someone else put it there. It's not my job to deal with another person's mess, right? After all I'm busy, I have my own demons to deal with and dragons to slay today. And Netflix (priorities, y'all). My town is a tidy place, and there's plenty of baydestrians clad to the ears in their Patagonia armor to take care of the problem on their own. Right?

As it turns out, this isn't true at all. My effort was passive. By that I mean through the course of my normal day, I would quickly swoop down and pick up rubbish where I saw it and keep moving along. No change in direction, still moving forward and with as little energy exerted as possible. The time commitment was negligible, except for this brief essay to tell you all about it. I even kept a pair of gloves in by back pocket with a small plastic bag (y'know the illegal kind you can no longer get at the grocery store). And because hand sanitizer is more common than water these days, I felt I had my safety bases covered.

(If I was feeling courageous and went out of the way to grab something, it didn't count. Discipline, people, discipline).

So how did I accumulate more than 2 weeks of my family's garbage output in a passive effort? I don't really know. What I can say is the largest component was packing styrofoam. The indestructible kind that can be shaped into anything you want or broken down into little white pellets that blow away like dandelion seeds in a breeze. Next, item: roof shingles. I can't explain this one. Maybe there was a sale on Tesla panels and the former owners felt a better resting place for two-ply bitumen was the street with its brethren. Also semi-indestructible but worthless. Third, masks; 'nuff said. Last, it came down to plastics of all kinds. Bottles. Candy Wrappers. Starbucks paraphernalia. You name it.

So what's my point here? We live in a world becoming increasingly aware of the physical threats caused by our day-to-day lifestyle. We are being told relentlessly to use less, and the "triple bottom line" and "corporate sustainability" went from activist bullhonky to actual business strategy. Will it work? I really don't know. What matters is the small things. You don't need to sell your truck for a Prius or go on a vegan diet to do your part to save the mothership. Don't be too proud to help someone else out, even if you never met them. It doesn't need to be every day either. Just try to do a little more. Small wins make a bigger difference than you think.

I also find in the workplace if you want to solve a problem, you need to stop contributing to it in the first place. Then teach others to do the same. In terms of the planet, if you really want to do something about garbage island in your local ocean, make sure you aren't just ignoring where the feedstock came from: collective indifference and apathy of genuinely decent citizens, doing their level best. Put differently, if you want to get a frog off your plate, you can either eat it quickly (it sure doesn't taste good), or make sure it doesn't jump on your plate in the first place. I know which one I'd pick.

What does your bed look like? Your home? Or your street?

Thanks for stopping by.