Recycling

by Johanne James

Hello again. Yes, it’s me.

Today’s topic is recycling.

Isn’t it a shame that everything produced for our consumption has a by-product of waste? We are a species of waste! Just about everything we have, goes to waste. I fear that one day this whole planet may become one great big landfill site. Okay, but all is not doom and gloom as people are becoming so much more aware, hence we are making use of what would once have been left behind. Things are built to a price and therefore have a certain shelf life, because what would be the point of making something that lasts a lifetime? So there is an inbuilt self-destruct system that means you have to replace it after a number of years. Think if products were made to last a lifetime, you would only ever need one, or just to replace it if it was damaged. There is no profit in that now, is there? I have started making furniture from old wooden pallets. It’s nothing new, but it’s new to me and it’s so much fun and very satisfying to see the fruits of my labour. You can now see me hunting for these items at building sites and warehouses, filling up my car with bits of wood and conjuring up all sorts of images as to what I’m going to create from this pile of what many would consider junk, or kindling. Recycling has been around for many years, but we are bombarded by companies advertising new products on a daily basis, and therefore we succumb to that subliminal desire to buy something we don’t need, and thus create more waste. The more you use something, the less efficient it becomes, fact, but that doesn’t mean it has to be thrown away when its days have ended. Many things now take on a new life, and one of my favourites was an old safe that started its new life as an open fire. All it needs is a little imagination, and I think that can be done with most of what we would throw away. We live in a throw away society, but there comes a point when you may ask yourself, do I need this, or what do I have here that I can make use of? Necessity is the mother of invention as many (a third world country) can testify to. Go and invent.

Peace my friends.

 made by Johanne James