So in my Industrial Ecology class today, we were talking about sustainable waste management. Trash. Pretty boring. So I don't know if you've heard of RecycleBank, but it's a start-up that basically rewards people with gift cards, etc. based on how much they recycle. My professor started it with 2 other guys, but then he backed out to finish his PhD. Now the company is hugely successful, in 300 cities, and he loudly regretted in class his decision to choose the PhD over the start-up. : / Anyway, the main point of the story is that they did a case study in Philadelphia when the start-up was just beginning. As part of this, they literally went through the garbage of everyone in the neighborhood, picking through it and categorizing it. And my professor showed us a picture that characterizes perfectly why America has a waste problem: it was a picture of a skillet, with 3 burned grilled cheeses on it, that had been thrown out. When the owner burned the grilled cheese, instead of just scraping it off and cleaning it, he just threw the whole darn thing out in the trash. !!! hilarious. Silly silly America : p
P.S. I really want to see "Waiting for Superman", the new documentary about the public school system in America. Anyone want to join me?
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