So, last week was the week of Love, for those of you who celebrate St Valentines Day, and it made me aware of all of the various gifts, objects and general paraphernalia that suddenly appeared in the shops a few weeks beforehand, intended for sweethearts across the land.
Items in all shapes and sizes, many of which no doubt are destined for dusty shelves only to be discarded in time. Some which may end up in charity shops or even be recycled, but I fear most are yet another contribution to the mounting pile of ‘stuff’ that people generally collate then eventually place into the non recycling bin.
I am by no means trying to be a ‘bah humbug’ (or should that be a bah Lovebug?), but the number of festivals, celebrations and occasions appears to be growing, and with it, the opportunity for producers to develop and sell more unrecyclable, non-reusable and unrepairable items.
An excellent speaker at the LARAC October conference in 2021 discussed how LARAC could be renamed LARRRRAC to include all of the R’s other than recycling. I think over the years since LARAC was formed, all Local Authority Recycling representatives are definitely no longer confined just to the business of recycling but are becoming more and more involved with the other R’s in the drive towards developing a truly circular economy.
There are some fantastic examples of projects across the country addressing waste reduction, repair and reuse and residents are starting to get on board with the concept, with more and more sharing groups being set up and ‘No waste’ communities.
Let’s hope this is more the shape of things to come and people start to show their love of vintage, second hand and upcycled objects, more than the need to purchase a giant red teddy holding some plastic red roses. I’m sure their sweetheart would appreciate the gesture!
Recycling still has a huge role to play
Many people have expressed disappointment that the Resources and Waste Strategy didn’t feature enough towards the top of the waste hierarchy, however, recycling still has a huge role to play.
We are of course still eagerly awaiting the responses from DEFRA on the latest round of consultation responses, after which there will no doubt be a flurry of activity. As always, LARAC is here to support all members with this and continues to lobby for members’ best interests.
Please make use of the Discussion Forum on the LARAC website, which not only allows you post burning questions that others may be able to help with, but you can also look back on posts from other members to get information on a range of subjects. I believe this forum will become even more valuable in the coming months, as we all try to navigate the uncertainty of the reforms.
But whether we are reducing, reusing, repairing or recycling, we are all here to support one another to help revolutionise our relationship with our stuff!
