Reduce
Spending on new goods is encouraged through advertising and seen as a mechanism for economy growth, but how many of the goods we buy are really necessary and how much fossil fuel is associated with these goods? Our cupboards often contain items we seldom use. We sense that more people are realising that happiness gained from a shopping trip does not last long but decluttering our lives has a more lasting impact. Take a look at the Story of Stuff for a thought provoking video.
Reuse and Recycle
A circular economy is one in which resources are kept in use for as long as possible, extracting the maximum value from them, then recovering and regenerating products and materials at the end of their existing service life. It is an alternative to the linear economy of make, use and dispose. Circular economies are often discussed in terms of manufactured products, but goods often end up with consumers, so its critical that when consumers have finished with an item it is reused or recycled to maximise the material content. A more circular economy will, reduce waste, improve productivity, address resource security and scarcity issues and reduce the environmental impacts of our production and consumption.
GETTING INVOLVED
Transition Town Letchworth support initiatives to help reduce people’s consumption and also promote organisations and events that facilitate reuse, repair and repurposing. TTL introduced ‘garage sales’ to the town. TTL currently have a number of activities to tackle the issue of waste and welcome new volunteers to help with these activities:
- TTL are the Community Leader for a project implementing the Surfers Against Sewage Community Toolkit to reduce single-use plastic and gain Plastic Free Letchworth status . Have a look at the projects Plastic Free Letchworth webpage to find out more.
- We are gathering ideas on a vision of a circular economy in Letchworth and feeding these ideas into our waste authorities consultations.
- TTL are involved in facilitating a Town Centre collection point for hard to recycle plastics. These plastics are recycled for rewards by local charities and schools through a scheme set up by Terracycle. Click here for a list of products you can take to Bamboo Turtle (5 The Arcade, Letchworth) for recycling.
STUFF / WASTE RELATED BLOG POSTS
