FEATURE - Waste not, want not!

How to model sustainable living for the world stage, courtesy of Waste Action Maleny and our kitchen bins!

By Travis Earsman

Humanity is facing a difficult future. We are currently experiencing a mass-extinction event, a looming climate emergency as well as a biodiversity system collapse. 

It is hard to know how to approach this on a global scale, but in Maleny a small group of people are doing whatever they can on a local level, in an effort to raise awareness and to effect change. 

Ernie Marcum,  Jenni Harmony and Ann Donoghoe of Waste Action Maleny (WAM) feel that Maleny is well-positioned to be a model for sustainable living on the world stage. 

The group has its roots in earlier groups such as Community Response to Climate Change, and Sustainable Maleny, groups that achieved many great things including the introduction of electric car-charging points in town. 

Conversations grew amongst the members of these groups, and they formed Waste Action Maleny in order to address the ways in which we as a society view our waste. 

Ernie Marcum explains, “Our goal currently is focused chiefly on waste management and awareness around what we as the consumer purchases and how we dispose of that waste. 

“What is waste and how do you deal with it, particularly given the global set of problems. How do we deal with that locally, in our own lives, and in our households?”

Famed environmental activist David Suzuki stated that “in nature there is no such thing as waste. In nature, nothing is wasted; everything is recycled” 

This is a concept that WAM are building on, simply because in the modern human world, this no longer holds true. We live in a world in which we extract resources from the environment, regardless of the consequences, in order to produce an unending carousel of products and services to sell for profit. 

People consume these, and then are left with waste products which are not naturally recycled as per the Suzukian view of nature. The question then becomes what do we do with it? 

So what exactly is the ‘action’ in Waste Action Maleny? What is their message to us all? 

“WAM advocates building awareness around what we buy, how we consume and how we dispose of the waste from that,” says Jenni.

“How do we connect these hidden looming global calamities to our own day-to-day life? What can we really do on a small scale? How can we positively affect the global impact of humanity upon the planet whilst we try to get on with the business of living our lives.”

“Waste Action Maleny suggests that the real-world interface between us and the waste problems of the world at large is our very own humble kitchen bin,” Ann shares.

“The bin is our direct connection to the global set of problems, the things that threaten our children, and everything, everybody that comes after. It's directly connected to the climate emergency, the creation of carbon emissions, the creation of pollutants and toxins that are the cause of the global biodiversity crisis.”

Much of what WAM advocates can be summed up by this quote from Pete Seeger: “If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production.”

Our first step therefore, is to be aware of what we consume in the first place. Avoid buying materials that create waste destined for landfill. Repair and reuse what we can, compost our food waste and follow the WAM recycling guide to help us recycle even the trickier items that cannot go into our recycling bins. 

“We don't actually see recycling as the answer,” Jenni admits. 

“It's better than throwing it straight in landfill, to get more uses out of it so you're not having to buy new all the time, but definitely, the best thing is not to use what's harmful.

“We need to ask ourselves what the life of any given item is likely to be, as well as any potential damage that it may do to the environment after it is disposed of. 

“Beyond this, the next step is to ask ourselves what the alternatives are. If there are viable alternatives to potentially harmful products, simply buy the alternatives instead!”

Apart from educating and encouraging people to be more mindful of their waste, WAM is endeavouring to build and nurture the community, united by this awareness and positive intention. 

To this end, they are regularly running workshops, hosting guest speakers, screening films and holding house concerts, all in the name of bringing fun and community to the conservation of sustainability. 

In a perfect world, we would be living closer to nature and therefore David Suzuki’s view of waste would ring true. Perhaps this is our future, but it is not our current reality. 

As long as we over-produce, over-consume and exploit the environment for personal and corporate gain, harmful waste will continue to be produced. 

We need to have a unified and efficient way of dealing with it, individually, locally and ultimately, globally.