Waste AM

Joddle
Sites like my Zero waste are trying to make a point, that an ordinary family can make a difference if only you had the motivation, and they’ve proved that it can be done, to the people that doubt it’s possible, the only problem is we are living in a society that doesn’t do hardship, and convenience is King,The real people that are producing this massive amount of waste would not go on these sites in the first place, its only people that are interested in reducing their waste that would,
so mrs g has proved that it can be done on an individual basis, The general population of the Uk will not have the motivation or inclination In my view to go down a total zero waste strategy, it has proven in the past that the older generation has more interest in substantially reducing waste, 
lots of them   had no choice in the 40s and 50s due to the devastation of the Second World War,
 They seem to have a different mindset over the problem of waste management,
, but nowadays I am totally astonished at the apathy surrounding waste in the younger generations I suppose you cannot completely generalise, and there is always some that are the exception To the rule, But waste materials and products seem to follow them like a trail,?
but if we do not motivate the up and coming generations what hope have we got in the future to reduce waste of all kinds,
 I do think now it’s up to the local authorities and governments to take the initiative, and take the responsibility of recycling out of the publics hands, and take the responsibility for most people, I’m afraid, (at the tax payers expense), in the UK the mindset of the UK public doesn’t seem to be concerned generally with the waste mountain that they are producing, but this  knock on effect is devastating their environment, and polluting our planet and contributing to green house gases, if we leave it up to most individuals at the moment, 
There does seem to be a sort of selfish attitude amongst a vast amount of the population of the UK at the moment over the subject, “someone else’s problem”,
 They’re not very much community spirit any more, 
And leave all these sorts of issues to the very few people that care about it,
But let us not forget that most of the waste that is produced, is business and industry, only 18% of the municipal waste is generated by the general public,
 And at the moment most of the waste, materials etc is generated by the building and housing sector, something like 36% of all waste generated,
I think the key here is that we buy wisely, and we need to ask ourselves, do we really need half of what we buy,
what we do buy I think we need to purchase goods that last!, Or refurbish old goods, eg: I second hand etc if we can, And we sould be much more aware of packaging, especially in food,
 with all this business will simply think it’s a bad idea due to lost profits!….

 I don’t want to appear to be preaching once again, but I don’t know any other way to express my frustration on the subject…

Hi Stephen, sorry for the silence lately. I haven’t had internet access – still attempting to keep up the posts though! Did you listen to the podcast? Even if I do say so myself, I think it was better than the Armageddon one Waste is my favourite topic to talk about.

I wasn’t having a go at Mrs G – Myzerowaste is my favourite blog to read. I think I make the point in the podcast that as much as I like what she is doing, for me the lifestyle is too extreme. I also think it’s necessary to look at the bigger picture – which for me is always reduce foremost. I think I once read on her site that she mails used toothbrushes to be recycled somewhere in The Philippines. I wasn’t sure that was worth it (how can you calculate all the effort, resources and energy that goes into that kind of long distance transaction?)

Anyway sorry to ignore you, I’m back in discussion mode this week with uninterrupted internet access :0

Sorry joddle, I haven’t got broadband on my phone at the moment, and when I download large files like podcasts, it takes ages, I only downloaded 30 minutes of it at the moment, and that took hours! I think what I have heard up until now sounds good, and a lot more professional sounding in my view, 
Mrs G is making a point with her lifestyle, but sometimes I wonder if this is clouding her judgement at times, when her main object is simply to avoid non-recyclable waste going to the black waste bin,! at any cost, all so it seems, she can be the “green goddess”(Celebrity status) of the recycling world as it were,
 maybe not doing a great deal to reduce her real carbon footprint in the end, but starting off with the best intentions,(I do hope I’m not appearing too harsh because she is such a wonderful, role model/ lady),
 but on the other hand maybe I’ve got it all wrong, I think it’s as you say; “reduce the need for waste in the first place” by simply buying less,
 easier said than done when most of society seem to judge your worth, on people’s material wealth nowadays, and the one that acquires the most, gets a large pat on the back, for being a member of the gluttony and excess club,
Or perhaps it’s me rambling again…..
“I will comment on your points raised when I’ve heard more of the podcast joddle, for what it’s worth”.(my  Comments).