As you have probably seen already, I try to think of ways to apply Ellen MacArthur’s ideas on a Circular Economy. Essentially she encourages consumers and manufacturers to use the basic principle of ‘Reuse, Recycle, Regenerate’ to minimise waste. In doing so our economy would become more sustainable, reducing consumerism and asking businesses to measure something other than profit.
Attempting to apply this theory in real life and with some pragmatism can be difficult to visualise. One thing that irritates me is that dishwashers are designed not to be able to cope with waste food! Recently my old dishwasher was deemed irreparable and waste food cited as one of the reasons for its rapid decline. Apparently dishwashers are only expected to have a six year life expectancy after which they are deemed unfixable or not worth fixing. Where are the repairers these days?
The other thing that drives me mad is the relatively new practice of picking up dog poop in bags… Its foul to do. Creates unnecessary litter. Causes people to hang said bags on trees under the false promise of returning to collect them. Results in bins full of bags of poop, which subsequently the bin men have to empty and deposit on the rubbish tip. There to simply sit on a mound without decomposing naturally… Ugh! So I took it upon myself to think of a better solution and came up with this:
It’s a simple trowel hung on a tree, that you use to scoop the poop and bury it. No plastic bags required. The poop decomposes naturally. You don’t have to carry a poop filled bag anywhere. And should the idea take off, there’ll be a trowel on a tree every 200 yards or so. They should mostly be cleaned by the practice of digging a hole, plus washed off by the rain. I think it’s a great idea; I hope others do too.
Having had a disastrous attempt at going plastic free at Easter, I’m determined to introduce better habits in my life. The barriers to achieving plastic free living are detailed in this video: https://youtu.be/AqxxJlYTYCc
Meanwhile all I can do is to be as environmentally friendly in my buying choices as I can be. Fingers crossed the supply chains out there will adjust accordingly!
Love Ruth x
Header photo by Enrico Mantegazza on Unsplash
Well Thought Through 