Closing the recycling loop
31 August 2007
Recycling is often the first thing that comes to mind when you think about how to protect the environment. Its true that recycling seems to be finally climbing up the priority ladder of the general public. Whereas a lot of environmental issues like climate change and tropical deforestation are difficult to see, feel (and smell), waste isn’t. We all produce bags of it each week in our own homes. Its easy enough to imagine the amount of rubbish you produce each week, multiply it by the number of households in Warwickshire, and think of it piled into a sprawling landfill site - for example at our own otherwise beautiful Ufton.
Recycling is a good solution, but to make it work, we need to take it a step further – here’s why:
Thinking about rubbish as a complete system i.e. raw materials made into consumer goods sent into landfill as waste - helps us to understand why we need to recycle. But to make recycling work for the UK, we need to think of recycling as a complete system as well, including what happens to its end product.
To make recycling work, we need to buy recycled goods. Because if we don’t, then the companies who actually make the old paper / glass etc into new recycled goods will struggle and recycling won’t help to support the economy.
There are a lot of recycled products available in the mainstream shops now, like recycled note paper, toilet roll, greetings cards etc. And if you shop around you can get some really interesting bits and pieces some of which make good gifts such as colourful coasters made from recycled plastic or circuit boards, and my favourites – recycled drinking glasses made from wine and beer bottles which have been adapted and decorated.
Are you the one who orders stationery for your workplace? You can now get mouse mats made from recycled tyres, pens and pencils, made from recycled plastic cups or cardboard – with these you can compost most of the pen once it runs out!
Critics of recycling have said to me in the past, “Its all very well helping the environment, but its not economic is it?” It may not have occurred to them that recycling creates far more jobs than other disposal options like landfill or incineration. We can prove them wrong by buying recycled goods and making the market for them thrive.
Green Stationery from www.greenstat.co.uk
Recycled gifts from www.yourtomorrow.co.uk
www.recyclenow.com