Permaculture Principle #6 - Produce No Waste
Hi there and welcome to this weeks blog. As you would have noticed by now, I am going through the 12 Principles of Permaculture to give you a better understanding and insight into my work as a Permaculture Gardener.
This week, I will be talking about Principle #6, Produce No Waste.
If we look at nature, we realise that it actually doesn’t produce any waste. One organisms waste is another organisms food, which means that all waste is always recycled in one way or another. Unfortunately, the human race has introduced a heap of practices that produces a lot of waste that ends up in landfill, in the air, or in our oceans. And even though it is easy to “blame” governments or big businesses, it always comes down to each person to make a positive impact through positive actions for our environment.
The obvious and potentially easiest thing for us to adhere to this principle is to compost our food scraps through a compost bin or a worm farm. But what other ways is there for us to reduce our waste?
Reduce the use of plastic - So much of what we consume from supermarkets, deliveries, clothing stores etc comes packed in plastic. This is where each person can make conscious decisions to help reduce the use of plastic:
Choose to buy your food from places that don’t pack their food in plastic (the farmers markets for example)
Take a reusable bag when going food shopping
Buy your food in bulk
Choose companies that do not use plastic in their packaging (of clothes for example)
Use glass containers for storing your own food
Reduce your co2 emissions - This is another big one that a lot of us could improve on. I am sure you have heard it all before, but ditching the car and using public transport or a bike is so much better for our environment, and also for your own health.
Reuse instead of throwing out - A lot of the time we throw out things that don’t “work” anymore. It could be a piece of clothing that has a hole in it, a rusty bike, or some furniture that needs to be fixed. A lot of the time there is plenty of “lifetime” left in these things, it only takes a little bit of creativity. Next time you are throwing something out, try and see if there is a way to reuse this item instead!
Start a garden! - Last but not least, start your own garden growing veggies and herbs. This will reduce waste in so many ways, and will of course give you the best feeling in the world, eating something that you yourself have grown.
I hope you take a good look at yourself after reading this and introduce some of the things I have mentioned here in your life.
See you next week!
