Myriam Hernandez - 2021

More Space More Waste

More space does not always create a harmonized space. In this art piece, I took two drastically different areas. One has 84,899 mi² of space with a population of 3.2 million. The other has 233.7 mi² of space with a population of 9.8 million. You would think that having more people, and less space would cause more waste to be accumulated. However, the opposite is true in this case. With only 3.2 million people, Utah averages out about 4.2 lbs. of waste created per person per day, and Seoul, Koreas’ 9.8 million people average out 2.1 lbs. of waste per person per day. Even though Utah is 363 times larger than Seoul, Korea, we are created twice as much waste per day as they are. I wanted to make this art piece to showcase the area through their waste. If you notice, the top half is dirtier and has no sense of organization.

In contrast, the bottom half is categorized and cleaner. Seoul, Korea, has learned to maximize recycling their waste. They have many different categories for their waste and laws put into place to help reduce improper disposal. If Utah adopted even a percentage of what Seoul Korea is currently doing, we could see our waste production go down, and our recycling production go up.

To get more information on Seoul Koreas waste management, visit https://tinyurl.com/2s3u84bw