Yet, to most, it’s just another empty statistic. The amount of waste each we all generate doesn’t seem to bother anyone, partly because no one sees the problem.
Everyone puts their waste in a trash receptacle or recycling bin, the garbage truck comes along and whisks it all off to a so-called bottomless landfill or recycling plant, and then the problem is solved, right? Trash only becomes a problem when we have to look at it, smell it, or compete with those nasty little creatures that feast on it.
No one knows this more than Karen Herzog, a self-proclaimed trash recycler who lives in New York, a state that must now export their trash to available landfills in surrounding states.
For years, Karen has been doing her part for the environment by recovering everything from typewriters to porcelain figurines to discarded bricks, and reusing them herself, donating them to charity, or simply storing them in her yard for future use. Not everyone supported her. In fact, Karen’s neighbors didn't appreciate the heap of clutter in her yard and reported her for code violations. Forced to go to court, Karen was ordered to pay $79,000 in fines or get rid of everything except a broken wicker chair and a flowerpot. The “trash” is now out of site, but we’d like to make sure that it’s not out of mind.
During the Great Depression, people used to sort through city dumps to find and repair or reuse discarded items. Today, it's actually illegal. In fact, it's illegal to go through anybody's trash. And now, if your trash is visible, you can be fined. Doing good for the environment is bad. Or, at least, that’s what the law suggests.
If more people are prosecuted, will anyone try to salvage anything or will it all go into the ground where we get our food and water? We can’t just sweep all of our waste under the rug, or dump it into the ocean, and expect everyone to forget about it. Or can we?
t-shirt issue 56:Support Karen
How big must the Great Pacific Garbage Patch get before people start to take notice of this toxic trash heap that’s twice the size of Texas and floating in our ocean between San Francisco and Hawaii? Whose beautiful view must it obstruct before we’re forced to do something about it?
What will the future of the world look like if we continue on this path of excessive consumption? Might we all be living on tops of trash covered by pretty landscapes? Or will our perceptions of trash change and encourage us all to reduce, reuse, and recycle our waste?
All we know is that it couldn’t hurt to be a little more like Karen.
C.R.
designed by:Bombo!
Bombo!, a.k.a. Maurizio Santucci, was born in Barga, Italy, where he still lives and works.
Using artful cuts of colorful paper, Bombo! successfully brings a new dimension and fresh whimsy to illustrations that we haven’t seen anywhere else. It’s no surprise that his unique style has been in high demand ever since he left a short-lived career in advertising to become a freelance illustrator.
There are the numerous solo and group exhibitions he’s done. The amazing books and posters. The impressive list of clients that include Rolling Stone, ABN Amro, Mini BMW, and Vodafone. And then, of course, there’s little ol’ us, T-post.
When we sent Bombo! the news clipping with Karen’s story, he responded with a super simple idea.
“It’s a hypothetical campaign to support Karen,” says Bombo! “If someone asks who Karen is, we can explain to them who she is and talk about ecology.”
Support Karen. Done.
Now support Bombo! by going to bomboland.com
C.R.
written by Roman, April 24, 2011
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written by rebhu, August 26, 2010
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written by Adrian, August 17, 2010
In a broader perspective i feel that the story sometimes is more important than the design and thereby T-post has not exploited their full potential. It would be interesting to see T-post taking some more risks with their design and not just settle for centerprints that should satisfy everyone. I still love T-post and the concept, no doubt, just think that there is room for improvement concerning the designs.
Conclusively I think that there should be a rate the newest T-post issue-feature, thereby making it easier for T-post to gather knowledge about what the subscribers like in terms of boldness, colours etc. If everyone disliked the "Sorry for last night"-issue it could be seen as valuable information and that subscribers probably do not like statement t-shirts which could lead to better designs and even more satisfied subscribers.
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just by the Way.
Something else struck me,
it's this Model,
she's sexy.
:D