Like a perverse turtle, Rob Greenfield wears his trash on his back: Sandwiched between heavy duty plastic sheeting is every wrapper, bag, tissue and twisty tie the environmental activist has accumulated over the past few weeks. His unusual garb is part of an attention-grabbing demonstration: Since September 19, Greenfield has been shuffling down the streets of New York City ensconced in his own debris to raise awareness of how much waste the average American produces in a month.
This is not Greenfield鈥檚 first sustainability-related stunt. In the past, the 30-year-old has lived off the grid, shunning traditional showers for more than two years to bring attention to water use; he’s also gone dumpster diving with a television reporter to highlight urban food waste. In this case, 鈥渢he focus is waste in general,鈥� says Greenfield, by which he means food waste like orange peels and apple cores as well as manmade waste products. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all the waste that we’re sending to a landfill as individuals.鈥�
Right now, Greenfield is creating about 3 lbs of trash per day. That鈥檚 significantly less than the average American, who creates about 4.5 lbs of trash per day鈥攐r about 130 lbs of trash per month鈥攁ccording to the Environmental Protection Agency. Greenfield attributes the discrepancy to the length of his project: Over a longer period of time, the average person would typically be replacing broken electronics or buying a new couch, which contributes to the 4.5 lb tally.
All that trash adds up to a sobering reality: In 2013, Americans generated about 254 million tons of trash. The global rate of trash production鈥攚hich is currently dominated by the U.S., with China following close behind鈥攊s on track to triple by 2100. Those striking statistics are what propelled Greenfield to walk the streets covered in his own personal trash, including paper coffee cups, Target bags and McDonald鈥檚 wrappers.
鈥淢y goal 鈥� is to always find ways to get people excited about environmental issues,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here’s so many reasons to feel that utter doom and gloom but I don’t feel that’s necessarily the best way to get people involved. That’s why I try to keep things positive, fun and interesting.鈥�
But Greenfield couldn鈥檛 have executed this vision without another key player: Nancy Judd, founder of a sustainable art and fashion company called Recycle Runway, is the creator of the meticulously-designed suit Greenfield is wearing. You could call their synthesis a match made in trash heaven; Judd, who made her first 鈥渢rashion鈥� in 1998, has a long history of combining art and recycled products dating back to an event she co-founded called the Recycle Santa Fe Art Market and Trash Fashion Show.
鈥淲e have such a disregard for the materials that pass through our hands, the resources that were used to create them and the pollution that was caused in their creation,鈥� says Judd. 鈥淓verything we touch has a story, and the stories get lost so easily in this society where we throw things away without even thinking about it.鈥�
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