Waste not, want not.

I recall a number of embarrassing occasions as a child going into a supermarket or shopping centre with my grandmother. I would go to throw something out and she would naggingly ask me, "what are you doing that for?" She would then tell me throwing out that unused paper or half eaten meal was wasteful, and though I didn’t want it, maybe someone else did. She would then scoop the almost disposed item out of my little hands, and carry it around the supermarket or wrap it in tissues and tuck it into her handbag. Her attitude was that if it could still be used in some way, it was worth keeping.

I still have vivid memories of her taking doggy bags from restaurants, collecting aluminium soft drink cans from rubbish bins, giving my sister and I the back of pantyhose packets for drawing paper, and finding that prized preloved item at the side of the road or rubbish tip.

Growing up as part of a consuming generation, I had difficulty understanding the idea of recycling and conserving. To me, if something broke, you would just throw it away and get a new one. If I wanted to draw pictures, I would just take a clean sheet of paper. Not hungry? Just throw the rest of my food out. And, if I wanted a new toy, it would not be retrieved from a rubbish tip. Mum or dad could simply buy it from a toy shop. As a little boy, this all made sense to me.

Well, things have come full circle and perhaps my lovely nanna was ahead of her time. Over the past 15 to 20 years most of us have become increasingly aware of the major environmental issues that we face and the impact of waste on our environment.

According to the European Commission website, more than 1.3 billion tones of waste is produced each year in the European Union, and at least 40 million tones of it is hazardous. Consumption practices in most Western countries including Australia are similar. The lion’s share of what we dispose of is either incinerated or dumped into landfill sites. Land fill occupies valuable land space and contaminates air, water and soil by discharging carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere and chemicals and pesticides into the earth and groundwater.

The Global Development Research Centre has indicated that developed countries have increased their per capita waste three-fold in the past two decades. This is no surprise. An ABC radio program revealed the consumption habits of some Australians when a number of people called in. One girl had owned twelve mobile phones in the past few years. Others gave account of businesses destroying then disposing of brand new clothing, entire record collections, books and Easter eggs rather than passing it on to those that could use it such as charity organisations.

Robyn Nagle, an anthropologist from New York University spent some time as part of her research working on a garbage truck and found furniture, clothing, and toys in pristine condition. She attributes current waste patterns to the economic incentives that favour disposability.

A marketing strategy that encourages wastage is "planned obsolescence", where a conscious decision is made to design a product so it is either obsolete or non-functional in a set time. This is supposed to benefit the producer because the customer will repeatedly purchase their product.

This strategy is commonplace across various industries and one only needs to look at the progression of electronic products such as video games consoles to see how it operates. Planned obsolescence is nothing new. The first case was in the 1930s when an engineer for General Electric designed a more efficient flashlight lamp which would only last the life of one battery rather than three in order to increase sales.

To curb such practices, the EU governments have started the WEEE (Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment) Directive, where electronic and electrical manufacturers must take back goods at the end of their use life. If they are found in landfill, the companies are fined and even if they go out of business, another company within the industry is forced to pick up the bill.

The Australian government has been reluctant to take up a similar initiative, however there are a number of enterprising small businesses and organisations doing their bit by coming up with creative ways to make one person’s trash, another’s treasure.

In West End, Brisbane, there is a bicycle recycling business aptly called The Bicycle Revolution. Initiated by Friends of the Earth, this business redirects bicycles from the scrap heap and either repairs them or sells the parts as spares. The Bicycle Revolution has become a bit of a landmark in West End and has provided many people with a great set of wheels they might not have been able to afford.

Just down the road, a cooperative called Reverse Garbage, collect industrial scraps such as offcuts, overruns, outdated stock and packing material from businesses and sell them as odds and ends that may be useful to artists, handypeople, teachers, tradespeople and the general public. This is also a popular service and often provides a cheaper alternative to art supplies stores, hardware stores and the like.

An ingenious website called swapstyle.com is gaining popularity and receiving praise from a number of large fashion magazines such as Cosmo. Rather than spending excess amounts on the latest clothing and accessories, women all over the world are now swapping fashion items without spending a cent. Let’s say you don’t have the money to purchase an evening gown for that special occasion, you can simply log onto the website and you may find someone who has the ideal dress who is looking for something you no longer have use for.

Another website called freecycle.org is a brilliant way to get rid of or obtain preloved goods. Members simply post a description of the item and perhaps a picture and other members contact them to take it off their hands. Though it is an international site, it is linked to localised groups (e.g. Melbourne 8000 members). The only rules are that goods must be free and appropriate for all ages.

These are but a handful of businesses that are beginning to think outside the square and are reaping the rewards of their resourcefulness whilst helping reduce the ever-increasing landfill that is harming the environment. Some businesses are also doing their bit by simply building goods "just the way they used to be built". With a little creativity and some street-smart business acumen, there is certainly scope for other opportunities. The results are encouraging and some of these businesses have been extremely successful. Maybe these guys actually gave some thought to the words "waste not want not" when uttered by their elders. Maybe they didn’t get embarrassed when their grandmother scooped that prized item out of the garbage either. Well then, maybe there’s a lesson in it for me. Next time I’ll take heed of your words nanna. Promise!

References
EUROPA website. "Environment - Waste" viewed online 23/02/06 at http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/waste/index.htm
Global Development Research Centre. "Changing Consumption Patterns in Human Settlements: Waste Management" viewed online 23/02/06 at http://www.gdrc.org/uem/waste/fact-waste.html
"Planned Obsolescence" on Wikipedia viewed 23/02/06 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence
HACK radio program, Triple J, ABC. "Culture of Waste Special" Jan 2, 06 and "Waste Follow Up" Feb 2, 06. See archives at http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/
Bedder, S. "Is planned obsolescence socially responsible?" in The New Engineer viewed online 02/03/06 at http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/sbeder/columns/engcol8.html
FOE projects and friends. Viewed online 2/03/06 at http://www.brisbane.foe.org.au/projects.htm
www.swapstyle.com
www.freecycle.org