Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, . . . & Replant a Rainforest!

[Christer Soderberg]

The three "R's" can't be repeated often enough, so here is a small contribution. What is so good about the three "R's" is that it gives me a structure to pin my activities, and requires less conscious thought on my part, so I "think" about these things. But what do I do?

Reduce: When our two daughters moved out and away from Sweden to study, my wife and I moved from our 280 m2 rented house to a 120 m2 rented house 50 km north of the city, we also went from a gasoline station wagon using 10 ltrs./100 km to a diesel car using 5 ltrs./100 km. The new house has geothermal heating as opposed to a diesel furnace in the old - and costs about 1/6 to heat compared to the old house. These reductions were not only good for the environment, they helped improve our financial situation - creating time and space for other things!

Reuse: What immediately comes to mind are the glass jars and bottles we collect to use when we make our jams, jellies, and juices from the abundance in nature. Sweden is incredible from May to October, and we are increasingly taking advantage by making Dandelion and Elderflower concentrated juices, wild berry marmalade (blueberries, wild strawberries, black currants, red currants, gooseberries, and raspberries, to name a few), experimenting with using less white sugar. Soon we will be picking mushrooms (Chanterelles and Portobello mostly) to marinade and dry for delicious meals in the winter. This is not only fun, being in the forests is great exercise, providing opportunities for meditation and reflection, but it's also a very healthy source of food, and it couldn't be more "locally sourced"! And yes, you know of course that plastic and paper bags are a no-no; get a canvas bag to take home your shopping, or why not one made from recycled PET bottles?

Recycle: We started a business three years ago importing furniture and art made from recycled tropical woods and other materials; tin, newspaper, and other old items. Naturally we have a number of these beautiful pieces in our home, all with a special faded luster and patina impossible to find on newer items. When we were younger, I was often found pulling items out of containers; and we even have a few excellent designer pieces we have recognized in interior decorating magazines and design books (we usually don't tell where they came from). And then there is of course the classical glass, tins, and plastics we recycle; but I am not at all in favour of this practice! By reducing and reusing we have limited what we need to recycle, but in today's modern society it's impossible to cut these materials out altogether (or at least I haven't figured out how). I think a much heavier burden should be put on manufacturers to come up with better solutions, better materials, not least think about ways these packaging materials can be reduced and reused (I also collect old tins, some real works of art!). Here I "vote with my feet" and look for ways not to buy products with ridiculous packaging. See "The Story of Stuff" if you haven't already!

I don't think this is in any way enough, so there is room for plenty of improvement. These are just some examples, and I'm looking forward to getting your comments and suggestions on how we can do more and better; all of us, together. I'm also aware that in many countries there isn't the luxury of reducing, when there isn't much to begin with, and that reusing isn't always an environmental statement but rather a question of survival. Let's think about that when we go out and buy more stuff.

Most helpful to me was making the conscious choice to REDUCE; reduce my costs, so that I could reduce my work-load, so I had energy left to THINK about what to reduce, reuse, and recycle. We still have a long way to go, me personally, and I think we're we're running out of time, as a species, so this is a very serious matter. Unfortunately I don't think it's enough to reduce, reuse, and recycle, and I don't believe that technology is going to save us (see below), but it's a good start, and can make a real difference if more people really get into it.

So where does Replanting a Rainforest come in? This is the way I see it: We have been living on credit (literally) for a long time, and now it's time to give nature a chance to help us save ourselves, planting trees makes oxygen, and we're running out of oxygen.

For more, read about our Replanting a Rainforest Retreats in October (for sustainable business and leadership) and November (for personal sustainability and leadership)-

Here are some sites on Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling:

A great video with Jack Johnson and his "3 R's" song. You all know it.

I found this on the www.futerra.co.uk blog:

What's the only working example of Carbon Capture and Storage?
- A Somalian pirate in charge of an oil tanker.


Give us your ideas on Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling!

Happy summer!