As someone who has ’sufferred’ from buying/receiving Primark clothing it comes as no suprise to read the latest news this week, that poor quality clothing is leading to an increase in textile produce ending up in landfill: Throwaway Fashion

Perhaps I am in the fortunate position of being able to afford better quality/longer lasting clothing and I do acknowledge that certainly in this economic climate others may not be so fortunate.  However continuation of the buy it cheap, time and time again is not sustainable -either environmentally or economically.  Again I can say I am fortunate in that I am a man and less inclined to follow fashion or need so many different outfits!

These cheap man made products after a few washes/wears begin to deteriorate and people are less inclined to send them to the charity shop or hand them on (i.e. reuse), they are therefore sent to lanfill.  30% of waste being textiles is really quite unaccepatble to me from an environmental and ethical perspective (I’ll not get into that just yet as that is a whole other story)

I would therefore encourage everybody to:

• try where possible to buy longer lasting/better quality clothing and buy less!  Production of clothing is an environmentally/energy intensive process.
• wash clothes without using harmful chemicals (try soapnuts http://yourenviro.com/2008/11/soap-nuts-environment/)
• Reuse old torn clothing as dusters, rags to clean with.
• Send old clothes to charity organisations to send to developing nations - do not worry they will not mind about the lower quality.
• And please please do not send it for landfill.

As I have just finsihed my daily yogurt I have come to the conclusion that this must stop - I am just creating far too many pots. Up until now I have found several avenues for reuse - starting seedlings, storage pots, etc. However I no longer have any other uses for them. The local authority, as is the case with many, do not take them for recycling as they are commonly made out of polystyrene and not eligible for plastic recycling.

So I am looking for a little help here - does anyone have any other usage suggestions for them? I am thinking they could possibly be used for some artwork but not sure what yet.

In the meantime I am going to have to revert to buying bigger pots and splitting them for each day to cut down on landfill waste.

Household produce waste runs not into kg but tonnes!  The vast majority of which then goes as landfill or incineration with resulting negative environmental impacts.  What can we as individuals do to alleviate this situation?  The key is to recycle, re-use and reduce (consumption).

Here are some simple basic tips to help you on your way:

Recycle:

• An average UK individual uses the equivalent of 6 trees of paper annually.  Despite efforts we are not becoming a paperless society.  So what can we do?  The first is obvious; we must recycle paper.  When printing do you print on both sides? No?!?! Well start.
• Secondly, sort out your waste.  Keep paper separate and take to your local authority for recycling (shredding anything that is confidential).  In certain circumstances it is also possible to compost this paper – although you need to measure this carefully with other contents in your compost bin (more on this in another article)
• All organic waste – vegetable peelings, grass cuttings, tea bags – should also be sorted and set aside for the compost bin.
• Glass, plastic, aluminium, like paper should all be set aside before going in the dustbin and taken to the local authority for recycling.  For larger items that you need to dispose of try www.freecycle.org and/or charity shops.  It is much better for the environment to pass clothes onto someone in need rather than throw them out to end up in landfill.

Reuse:

• Clothes that are not fit to be used by someone else can be used for another purpose – rags for the garage, dusters for the house, etc. 
• When shopping try and minimise need for plastic bags.  Plastic bags are very difficult to recycle.  So acquire sustainable shopping bags that you can re-use time and time again.  If applicable make sure you always have bags in your car for all those last minute shopping trips.
• If products you purchase come in tubs – such as ice cream – then re-use for packed lunches rather than using clingfilm.
• Use scrap paper for jotting down notes.  Similarly for used envelopes (if you cannot reuse them to send out)

Reduce:

• Reducing energy consumption is key for environmental sustainability.
• Switch off all lights when not in the room, switch off electrics rather than use standby mode.
• Use rechargeable batteries where possible - they will last several hundred uses!

These are just a few of many tips on doing your bit for the environment and inhabiting the world in a more sustainable manner.  More tips are likely to follow on this blog, in the meantime I would like to hear your ideas and tips.