Proactive, Positive Living

-- Quote of the Day --

“Before we get to the edge of the waterfall we need to stop and think about how we need to live… We have all these debates about whether there is global warming and so we don’t pass legislation. ...Russia had a huge heat wave and lost most of their grain harvest, and so they are exporting zero now. And then you get a country like Egypt who is their biggest customer, and they give bread to their poor – last year they couldn’t give out bread so they had rioting. …One might say 'well that might happen there, but not where [countries] are more developed.' But remember the truck strike in London when in just 4 days the grocery stores ran out of food – that strike got settled pretty quickly.  …Then comes the day you go to the market and there is no fish - well we can’t wait for that day.”   

~ Stuart Rose ~ Aug 17 2010

Today's quote comes from an interview with Stuart Rose who dropped in to the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio show to talk about the concept of Net Zero Construction. During this interview Stuart stressed the importance of acting now, before it is too late - to protect the planet in every way we can and to change our current behavior to reflect a sustainable lifestyle. Check out the archived episode via the hyper-linked title here - you can also find more recently aired episodes via the side-bars on this blog. 

-- Positive Eco-News --

 

Here is an interesting excerpt from a recent press release via: Friends of the Earth's Europe branch resources campaigner, Dr Michael Warhurst: 

“Our research shows that a 70% recycling target would create more than half a million new jobs by 2020, a significant contribution towards the 3 million green jobs that President Barroso has called for by 2020. …Europe must stop throwing valuable resources - and the potential jobs that come with them - in holes in the ground or sending them up in smoke in expensive incinerators.”

 Thus stresses the importance of how recycling has a direct effect on our local economy through job creation alone. If we could educate more people about this then they might just see that returnable bottle or recyclable can as something valuable and make that extra little step. 

It can be frustrating when working at a place that doesn't have one recyclable or returnable box for their staff - or if they do it is located in a very inconvenient spot. Often businesses will fail to mark on those collection boxes exactly what is accepted. For instance, instead of marking a box "recyclables", one could put in brackets "cardboard and paper only" - for instance. This makes the process easier because the staff then do not have to sort the box's contents. Some businesses use the "returnable cans & bottles" box for raising funds for staff events. Others use the small income from the returnables as a donation to local charities. 

A lot of the resistance to recycling can be avoided with numerous tidy collection sites around the home, office, carport and other areas where human traffic might flow. Have the staff, or family members, vote on which charity this month's returnable collections will support. Keep a record of how much "waste" was collected and celebrate this with occasional announcements, i.e.: "Did you realize that this year alone, just from returnables, we were able to donate a total of $150 to three different charities - helping families on the run, people in poverty, and abused animals?"

You see, the concept of Zero Waste begins with redesigning our waste collection system to encourage participation in current recycling and returnable programs. Once this is established collection areas for take-back programs and e-waste should be put in place. The third step would be looking at every item that is purchased and considering what alternatives can be found that suit your budget. Look for companies that strive to better the planet in some way, seek out suppliers that have in-house recycling programs and take-back programs, and finally - consider how their products are made. It really is as simple as choosing a manufactured product that produces less waste and is recyclable upon end-of-life.

 

Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, information about their radio program, newsletter, blogs, and more at: www.brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, or purchasing a book - each book sold raises funds for charity as well!