In praise of our local Reuse Depot, a model for a circular and sharing economy
We furnished our cabin from this shed, and now the District wants to take it away.
I spend the summer in a cabin that I bought for a song 35 years ago, before I learned about sufficiency and the absurdity of second homes. Many of our furnishings and dishware come from the reuse depot at the nearby dump. Now, the District Municipality of Muskoka is planning to close the depot. Instead of just complaining, I thought I would write a short open letter explaining why I believe it is the wrong decision.
To: The District Municipality of Muskoka
Re: Closure of Ridout reuse shed
I am writing to protest the proposed closure of the reuse depot at the Ridout waste facility. I have been a regular customer of the shed since we purchased our property on Shoe Lake 35 years ago; our furniture and many of our kitchen dishes came from the shed. I visit regularly; I recently found games for my granddaughter and books for me; it is always a source of something interesting or useful.
It also serves an essential function in these times of climate change and economic disruption- it is a view into the future.
I should note that I am an architect, writer, public speaker, and I teach sustainable design at Toronto Metropolitan University. I have an hour-long lecture I would be happy to share about the waste hierarchy, in which I point out that “recycling is broken,” that it may make people feel better, but that much of the recycled material is contaminated and ends up in the landfill. I don’t know what the true recycling rate is in Muskoka because it is handled by third parties, but in the USA, the average rate is down to 6%; the rest is burned or buried. Experts recognize that "It’s time to recognize the truth and accept what the credible facts and science tell us: plastic recycling is neither a safe nor realistic solution to reducing plastic waste and pollution.”
That’s why reuse comes out as significantly better than recycling on the waste management hierarchy, just behind “refuse (prevention) and reduce.”
This is also why much of the world is shifting to the concept of the circular economy, where products are designed to be reused rather than discarded or recycled. Even the Government of Canada says:
“A transition from the linear “take, make, waste” model to the circular economy would help efforts to implement the waste hierarchy. The circular economy keeps materials and products in use as long as possible by extending the lifespan, recirculating them back into the economy through reusing, refurbishing or repurposing, and by moving away from ownership of products to services and the sharing economy.”
It is taken very seriously in Europe and the UK
“The circular economy prioritizes the reuse of materials, preventing the over-extraction of natural resources and the number of usable materials that end up in landfill. More widely, it’s an economic model that builds overall system health by gradually decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources.”
The reuse depot isn’t going to save the world on its own, but it is an object lesson in circularity and the sharing economy. It teaches people that they don’t have to buy new stuff when they can pick up what they need in the shed and give it another life. They don’t have to order books on Amazon when there is such an eclectic collection in the shed. Every summer, they can upgrade the toys and games as the children get older.
It is a different low-waste, low-carbon, and low-cost lifestyle that more of us should emulate. If we are going to survive this climate crisis, we have to teach our children to reuse, repair, refurbish, repurpose, renew, regift, rebuild, and refuse; Recycling barely makes it onto the list. The Muskoka Climate Change Action Plan includes “Engaging the community in climate action;” the Reuse Depot is one of the most effective ways of directly engaging the community in a fundamental premise of carbon emission reduction: “Use less stuff.”
The Reuse Depot has saved me hundreds of dollars and entertained my children and my grandchildren. I have used it to teach two generations of kids about the virtues of reuse. It would be more than a shame to lose it- it would be a big step backwards to a world of waste.
If you are interested in more on the subject:
Recycling Is Beyond Fixing, So Let's Get Over It
It is apparently Global Recycling Day, “created in 2018 to help recognise, and celebrate, the importance recycling plays in preserving our precious primary resources and securing the future of our planet. It is a day for the world to come together and put the planet first.” It is sponsored by a bunch of recycling companies in Europe, which is a step up …
There's only one way to make the circular economy work: use less stuff.
The circular economy, as promoted by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, is “a systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution.” According to the Foundation, It all starts with design:
Jargon Watch: Circular-ish vs Circular
I have never been fond of “circularity” and “the circular economy,” thinking it little more than a fancy new term for recycling. I have previously written that There's only one way to make the circular economy work: use less stuff, because one will always need i…
Looks like a great place. They need one on every college campus; the students out so much good stuff in the dumpsters every year at move-out.
Similar problem at our dump north of Huntsville...reuse area has been downsized so has no room for big items, like furniture. There was a time when such items would be picked up when left beside our rural mailbox, but that does not happen now. Does everyone want new things?