Positive News on Zero Waste and Water Conservation

-- Conscious Living Event -- 

April 18:

Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council Waste Minimization Awards

Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 

Info: www.saskwastereduction.ca

-- Positive News -- 

Many of you have heard me state that just by recycling alone we can easily reduce our waste stream by 30%, add in composting and you’ve increased that to 60%. Through donating unwanted items, and incorporating as many of the other R’s ( reuse and repurpose, reduce and rent, refuse) we can raise that number to 90%. Can you imagine putting only 10% of the waste stream on the curb? What a difference this can make in the world! 

The thing that is so exciting about this is that it is so very do-able. Facilities and services already exist in most communities to make it possible. Once people get on board and show support through proactive participation, the system will grow to meet the rising demand, creating jobs along the way. 

Here in BC Canada we started out some 25 years ago with only newspaper and glass and returnable bottles and cans. Today we are seeing e-waste recycling programs, plastics #1-7, film plastic, all paper, metal, cans, paint, oil, glass, and organics – all of these are now accepted in the system which is constantly improving and evolving to meet today’s zero waste initiative goals. 

Over in Europe (which includes some 27 nations) in the last decade alone they saw an increase of three times the amount of recycling participation. Austria has reached a 63% recycling rate, closely followed by Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Stats like these are quite inspiring and show us that the goal of zero waste is closer then we think. 

Composting saves over three cubic yards of landfill space for every ton of organic waste recycled. There are other hidden benefits to composting beyond nutrient rich soil creation - for every 1 percent of organics in one acre soil, means that acre will hold 16,000 more gallons of water… healthy soil should have 5 percent organics. That means an acre can hold 80,000 more gallons of water than it's could hold previously. This is very good news for agriculture industry and for the dwindling water supply. Traditional soils will not retain much water, it is either evaporated off or drains down to the water table right away. Organic matter in the soil will absorb the water, making irrigation efforts so much more efficient.

 

Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, their radio program, blog, and more at: http://brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, clicking those social networking buttons, or visiting the Brummet's Store - and help raise funds for charity as well!