Resource

Your Next Ten Steps

• www.recyclenow.com
• www.recycleworks.co.uk
• www.remarkable.co.uk
• www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm for cradle-to-cradle design
• www.nearlyoutofdate.com
• www.biologicdesign.co.uk
• www.weblife.org/humanure
• www.wastewatch.org.uk
• www.uk.freecycle.org
• www.earthship.net
• www.fareshare.org.uk

• Organise
• Powerdown
• Recycle
• Substitute
• Stay
• Generate
• Grow
• Invest
• Make
• Community

The Coming New Reality

Already across the UK Local Governments are cutting back on Rubbish Collection services. This is for two purposes - firstly the landfill sites are filling up quickly - secondly, this is causing costs to rise. In order to stop everyone's Taxes from rising our Councils have to cut back, they simply cannot find enough holes to bury everything in. For some reason this has become a Political hot potato. Candidates for local elections even stood for election on the principle that they would not allow any reduction in Rubbish Collection services.

Here at Post-Carbon Living we say this is NOT a problem. If you need to have your Bin emptying EVERY week then you are doing something wrong. There is little or no reason why every green scrap can't be composted or every plastic bottle not recycled. All paper can be recycled as can all glass. So what is the problem? The average household can easily recycle over half of all waste. At the end of each week your bin should be a cavernous hole with plenty of space left.

 So, what is the excuse? Normally "I can't be bothered". We have all seen the Bins overflowing haven't we? We see the households that don't put their recycling bins out. We know who you are. Soon there will be no where to hide. No excuses. Soon Councils will start charging offenders. Not recycling is not only socially unacceptable it is wrong and it will start to cost you dear. Good! It is wasteful and every perpetrator of unnecessary waste should be ashamed of themselves. The recyclers can stand proud.

Be an example to your community, friends and neighbours. Recycling is simply a good habit. In Post-Carbon households it is simply inconceivable that any piece of recycling could ever end up in a bin. Most of us still have a long way to go. Some 'ultra-greenies' throw away a bin full only once every three or four MONTHS! That may be a bit extreme but these people have a seriously LOW Carbon Footprint and we can all learn new tricks from them.

So, go out there! Recycle. Be proud and create that new social 'norm'. Good luck.

Plastic Bags

It seems the entire World has gone mad against plastic bags. Sure they are ugly, mostly made of Oil, won't biodegrade, wasteful and deadly to marine life. However, their contribution to Climate Change is insignificant. On average we consume 134 Plastic Bags a year. That is just 2kg of Carbon. Considering the average citizen in the UK is responsible for 11 tonnes of Carbon a year then your Plastic bag addiction contributes just one five thousandth of your total footprint.

Sure, stop using them, but get things in proportion. We would rather you stopped flying, used public transport and insulated your home.