The Compact
A friend of mine has joined The Compact, which is a group of individuals who have made a commitment to not buy any new products of any kind during 2007, but instead to barter, borrow, or buy used. There are, of course, some exceptions - they don’t expect people to buy used underwear, for example. Their goals are as follows:
- To go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of disposable consumer culture and to support local businesses, farms, etc.
- To reduce clutter and waste in their homes (as in trash Compact-er).
- To simplify their lives (as in Calm-pact)
Their main Yahoo group currently has over 8400 members, and they have a number of regional groups as well, including the Compact Canada, which are listed on their blog.
I’m not ready to make that type of commitment, but I fully admire those who are, and I strongly support donating unwanted gifts to other people or organizations rather than throwing them in the garbage where they’ll end up in the landfill.
Hey Janet,
I just found this info from Statistics Canada:
Households across the country sent nearly 3.6 million tonnes of materials for recycling in 2004, an increase of 65 per cent compared to 2000.
In 2000, the average consumer produced 366 kilograms of residential waste, but by 2004 the figure had grown to 418 kilograms.
Maybe these “Compact” people have the right idea.
Comment by Jacki Hollywood Brown — July 14, 2007 @ 7:47 am
didja ever wonder how much energy could be saved if the ASL (automated side loader) garbage truck were made to pick up and dump more than one garbage receptacle at a stop? LOTS!
Comment by Mike — August 13, 2007 @ 12:31 pm
didja ever wonder how much gas the post office could save if all the mail boxes were on just one side of the street?
Comment by Mike — August 13, 2007 @ 12:32 pm
didja ever wonder why a trash compactor is not a standard household appliance? (same for restaurants and cafeterias)
Comment by Mike — August 13, 2007 @ 12:33 pm