To put the necessity to recycle in perspective, every year the average European dustbin contains enough unrealised energy for 500 baths, 3500 showers or 5,000 hours of television*. In order to actualise a sustainable relationship between society and the planet we must strive to balance depletion with renewal of the resources and materials we use in order to live so that the Earth too survives. If we manage to convert unrealised energy and shift more towards conserving than consuming surely only goods things will come of it. For example, simply recycling single aluminum can will save 95% of the energy used in producing a new one**. Coupling this positive action with reducing how much waste we make and reusing where possible the products we do is a perfect approach to achieving sustainable living.
Actions & Links
Get Educated With The 3Rs…
As hinted above we can Reduce, Reuse & Recycle in that order to minimise negative impacts on the environment and harness our own energy. A beacon of this philosophy in process is EMERGE, an organisation dedicated to providing such services to communities in Trafford via collections and promoting social and environmental sustainability in the area. Learn more about their involvement in the Real Skills Programme, which attempts to raise understanding and awareness of the 3Rs in Great , and get inspired at:
http://www.emergemanchester.co.uk
Anybody Sitting On That Chair?...
No? Then why not donate it to The Wesley Community Furniture Project. Their mission is to resell unwanted furniture to the most impoverished in . Thereby the project encourages recycling as well as redistribution to socially and environmentally fair ends. In the spirit of reducing our footprint you can also buy your next set of wardrobes from their shop in Fallowfield instead of indirectly chopping down more trees by going to Ikea. For more details visit:
http://www.thewesley.org.uk
Plus, get a sense of the massive potential of recycling at the Furniture Re-use Network:
http://www.frn.org.uk/
Should The Colour Of Be Red, Sky Blue or GREEN?...
The Green City Network certainly knows the answer! Established to fulfill the goal of transforming into the greenest city in the UK, this network implores 10 targets to achieve this quest. They include: reducing citywide CO₂ emissions at a rate exceeding UK Kyoto guidelines, supporting renewable energy production and increasing the rate of household recycling by 1% more than any other authority. Find out how well we’re doing and join the campaign to make our city Britain’s greenest:
http://www.manchestergreencity.co.uk/site/
Reach Out And Recycle…
If all this talk has greened your fingertips and reenergised your passion for recycling then visit the following websites for great tips, great projects and great ideas:
ENVIRONMENT NETWORK 4 MANCHESTER: a really accessible search facility for green events and groups http://www.manchesterenvironment.net/
COMMUNITY RECYCLING NETWORK UK: an umbrella organisation linking and coordinating everything there is to know about recycling nationwide http://www.crn.org.uk/
RECYCLE NOW: an excellent information website that gets you up to speed on the basics of recycling including lots of handy and easy to do steps http://www.recyclenow.com/
CAMPAIGN FOR REAL RECYCLING: an inspiring campaign to force government to wake up about the realities of and improvements that can be made to recycling http://www.realrecycling.org.uk/
References
* ASSURE: an organisation that promotes sustainable resource management thinking in EU policy making www.assurre.org
** MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL: a good place to get practical information on the recycling facilities in your borough http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents.php?categoryID=20008...
Content supplied by Rowan Smith
