An American carries 30 days of waste on his back against high consumption

“For most of us, waste is out of sight, out of mind. We put it in the trash and never think about it again. I wanted to find a visual way to help people understand what our accumulated waste really means,” the environmental activist explained to AFP.

As part of his challenge, he has decided to take with him all the waste he creates for a whole month, walking the streets of Los Angeles and raising awareness for those who meet him.

Almost at the end of his experiment, Rob Greenfield carries 28 kg of waste with him, mainly in packaging, placed in large pockets placed on his joints, abdomen and back.

The legs are so full that they give him a robotic gait, the effect of which is reinforced by the metallic sound of empty cans colliding as he passes a luxury boutique.

“On average, a person produces more than two kilograms of waste a day, so clothing should be able to withstand more weight,” explains the ecologist.

“On the twelfth day I started to feel the weight of the consumer. I felt the weight and saw the result and I said to myself, “Wow, how much garbage we collect is crazy.”

The young man, who prides himself on having only 44 items in total for his daily needs, is generally a testament to minimalism and advises on the internet to consume and decontaminate as much as possible.

In 2019, he fed himself for a whole year without buying anything commercially, and was content to cultivate and harvest what he ate.

But he had already set aside his policies for thirty days for the purposes of the experiment he conducted in New York in 2016 – to behave like the average American.

Thanks to his dress and the smile he always wears, Rob easily catches the attention of passersby and satisfies their curiosity about the values ​​he wants to promote.

“It helps me understand the message and reach people of all walks of life. So yes, some people believe I am homeless or I have mental health problems, but overall the people are very positive, ”he said.