front of pipe home > front of pipe ideas
After the waste starts to pile up, at the 'end of the pipe', it can still become a new resource by recycling or composting (if it's recyclable, if collections exist and if markets for the materials can be found). If you want to see a lot less waste then new ideas are needed. The big opportunities for making a real difference are at the front of the pipe, before waste happens. Every product and every person can take part. Your home and workplace are at the front of the pipe!
1. Prevent waste by repairing, reusing and avoiding purchase of products that will later become waste. Take special care to avoid buying hazardous substances such as lead, cadmium, solvent-based chemicals, pesticides and herbicides. Become even more energy efficient.
2. Prepare for old products to become new resources by finding time and space for recycling collection boxes and compost heaps. Use old-fashioned wooden compost boxes, or if your garden is small, learn to use a wormery. Plant trees to absorb waste gases.
3. Ask your local council to support and reward people to prevent waste and check if they are practising waste minimisation themselves! You'll know they are responding if they publicly ask government to shift the nation from waste-making to resource-making.
Your local council is at the front of the pipe!
1. Prevent waste by getting your own house in order. Avoid posting bundles of papers to people with email. Purchase supplies and buildings which are precycled (designed not to become waste).
2. Prepare for all old unusable items to become new resources again. Think beyond the standard "recyclable" materials. Focus support, rewards and initiatives at the neighbourhood level.
3. Adopt a policy to actually become sustainable over time (not just trying to reduce environmental impacts). Publicly pressure the government to provide the guidance and funds to make this possible. That means a change to the system where local authorities pay for waste that could have been prevented by others.
Your government is at the front of the pipe!
1. Prove that waste can be prevented by doing it yourselves. Simplify your operations and cut your own dependence on producing waste. Look at all wastes coming from bins, pipes and chimneys.
2. Write policies that explicitly plan for a smooth transition to an economy that makes new resources rather than wastes. Stop using the word "sustainable" until you've done this.
3. Halt the slide towards ever greater regulationand taxes by implementing just one instrument able to tackle waste, pollution and climate change together. See how at www.BlindSpot.org.uk. A peer reviewed paper is available. Front of Pipe is run by sustainability analyst James Greyson. return to front of pipe home | 
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