The Ecobuild
trade show was a glimpse into one aspect of a more sustainable future but when
I look at the glossy show guide on its way into the recycling box I wonder
whether we are any further forward. What were the show organisers thinking in
producing thousands of these thick tomes? A slim program is all anyone needed
to navigate the show and those with smart phones would not even need that. We are
not thinking sustainability across every aspect of society, but poking around
with small changes at the margins.
Our local
rubbish collecting system works on a two-week rota. In Week 1, the black
wheelie bin for general rubbish is collected. Week 2 is recycling week. The
green wheelie bin is for garden and kitchen waste; a green box for bottles; a
green box for paper; and a green bag for tins and plastic bottles. Most people
make the effort to sort their rubbish as required by the system, with some more
diligent than others, but the greater system of which this is part is deeply
unsustainable.
If we create the right framework, appropriate
processes and behaviours will evolve which will make rubbish obsolete.
McManners 2008
Running
society so that there is no rubbish is entirely feasible but the supply chain
is radically different; and radically better from all viewpoints except the
corporate view of companies that survive on making the unnecessary packaging
which is an integral part of the current ‘”efficient” supply system.
Current
recycling is a poor attempt to green up a deeply unsustainable system. The
system can be descried as ‘cradle-to-grave’, with the recycle centre and land-fill
as the grave. We know how it should be. Bottles should have a deposit for
return and re-use; food should be packed in returnable systems or in
biodegradable packaging; all items should have their end-of-life designed into
them at point of manufacture; many sale transaction should become service
delivery models.
This better
system can be descried as cradle-to-cradle. Every item of ‘waste’ becomes an
input into a production process. The biodegradable stream can produce energy
and compost for agriculture; the technical stream is processed into new
products (but only after a number of refurbishment and repair cycles). Why do
people take pride in putting a big pile of recycling outside their house? People
just do not know how much better the system could be and have little chance in
their own sphere of influence to change the system - but it is clear that the
system must be changed. Stand up to be counted.
JOIN THE
SUSTAINABLE REVOLUTON
McManners,
P.J. 2008. Adapt and Thrive: The
Sustainable Revolution. Reading: Susta Press
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