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Environment: Much More than the Straws



In recent years, plastic straw has entered the target of environmental awareness campaigns around the world. Several establishments and cities have created alternatives to the use of the utensil as a solution to encourage the population to reduce the number of plastics in the oceans. Teresina joined the attempt and established, in law, the prohibition of the use of the item in establishments. But there are those who do, daily, also common attitudes, even more to reduce the impact of their actions on the environment. The reuse of food, choice of non-polluting transportation and selective garbage collection are among the decisions of Teresinos to contribute to a healthier world.

Iara Gomes is one of those who is fully aware that much of what is considered garbage can be reused in a very positive way. The backyard of her house is the concrete proof of what she thinks: fruits, medicinal plants, flowers and ornamental plants spread through the ecosystem cared for and nourished from the leftovers of food from her family's daily consumption.

Through composting, the teacher transforms what would be thrown away into fertilizer. In her backyard, an immense quantity of fruit plants is spread that shade the entire space. All of them are planted and cared for by her. "I learned from my grandfather, from an early age, how to like the field and the planting. I started little by little and now that I've learned how to move a little on Youtube, I can get more tips", she says.

With the experiences of life, she learned that the bark of plants and vegetables, when separated and mixed in the right way, are able to produce a powerful fertilizer for plants, flowers and vegetables that she sees growing in her backyard.Already with the Internet, she understood that she could use worms for the production of humus and accelerate even more the process of care of that ecosystem.

In four compartments distributed in the backyard, Iara produces all the fertilizer she needs through the techniques. That's how she and her family saw the production of waste that is discarded drastically reduce, while the benefit of having access to food grown without pesticides increases. Not even the coffee grounds, which are widely consumed by the family, go to the garbage. "Every day, I select and separate what I'm going to reuse. Everyone here already knows. Today, we discard only hygiene and food items that cannot be reused. But even plastic and cans, I separate them to reuse them as a pot", he comments.

In the backyard, fig trees, soursop, mango, jabuticaba, ata, condessa, banana, blackberry, vegetables and flowers are enriched with the benefit of reuse. "I have a bit of a health problem, in fact, most of the family is already in the third age. I have fibromyalgia, and on days when I'm in pain, the best thing is to move around, when I come here and start messing with the plants I don't even know what pain is. It does a lot of good," he says.

With experience, Iara makes assertive recommendations that it is possible to produce even in small spaces, if there is light and care, any plant can develop. "Before, I had a vegetable garden in the window. So it's possible to have your garden even in an apartment. Growing chives, oregano and other vegetables is very easy. Life is related to light, so with water and sun everything grows", she concludes.

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