Physical Wastes

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Here is Issue 13 of Affirmative’s Newsletter — What Sustainability Really Means — focusing on PHYSICAL WASTES View this email in your browser PHYSICAL WASTES TRENDING: Reducing Inflation by Cutting Environmental Impact HAVE YOU HEARD OF? The 5 R’s SDG SPOTLIGHT: Goal 12: Responsible Consumption & Production IMPACT TIP: Zero Waste WHAT’S IT MATTER? Material Footprints AFFIRMATIVE SUSTAINABILITY INC. p. 250-814-4657 e. info@affirmativesustainability.com a. PO Box 1734 Revelstoke BC V0E 2S0 w. affirmativesustainability.com TRENDING: REDUCING INFLATION BY CUTTING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT “This bill is long overdue and a necessary step to ensure the United States takes decisive action on the climate crisis that helps our economy and provides leadership for the world by example.” - Al Gore, Former Vice President of the USA (Aug ‘22). We lead the climate discussion by talking about emissions reductions but how do we engage with the minerals, water and life on Earth no matter what conditions our atmosphere presents to us? Sure, increased atmospheric carbon concentration has resulted in warming conditions but shouldn’t we nurture a better relationship with our planet’s finite resources despite a changing climate? Last week in the. United States, the senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Temporary hold out to the bill, Joe Manchin insisted that inflation be the bill’s focus, citing paying down national debt and lowering energy & healthcare costs as top priorities. Does shifting the bill’s focus from “climate” to inflation even make a difference? What’s important is that the bill result in environmental provisions. Will decreasing environmental degradation cut household spending? Almost certainly - 41% of inflation is attributable to fossil fuel prices. The bill supports large scale integration of renewable energy to meet consumer demand. Some may find the name confusing and the jury is still out on whether the bill will have any effect on inflation, but it should help to reduce costs and get the United States more aligned than ever with recommendations of the Paris Agreement. Call it what you will, the bill aims to reduce pollution, make clean energy more accessible and strengthen resilience to climate change. HAVE YOU HEARD OF? The 5 R’s: Refuse: Do not accept things that we do not need to have - including single-use plastics. Reduce: Cut out purchases that are unnecessary. Reuse/Repurpose: Whenever possible, use items more than once or repurpose or “upcycle” old items with new usages. Recycle: While recycling can extend the lifespan of a material, it requires energy and some materials have a limited number of times they can be recycled. Ensure that recycled goods are clean and properly sorted and that they are in fact, reaching a processing facility. Rot: Create nutrient-rich, soil fertilizer by composting your food wastes and organics. 5 R tips & tricks ➙ SDG SPOTLIGHT: GOAL 12: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION & PRODUCTION TARGET 5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse. Where does your garbage end up?: Waste Diversion: - Is landfill your only option? Have you considered alternatives to traditional composting? Is there an opportunity to utilize one of the 5 R’s? Litter: - How likely is a product to be carelessly discarded? Can you apply the principle of “leave no trace” to your life? What are your micro-wasting tendencies? Pollution: - Does consumption of a product result in contamination of air or water? Water Handling: - Can water be treated or filtered in a way that reduces the impact of physical wastes? Consider your waste handling strategy ➙ IMPACT TIP: ZERO WASTE: It may not feel realistic to go to Zero Waste overnight. And some may feel like Zero Waste isn’t possible. But reducing our personal consumption of physical waste is possible with a bit of know-how and planning. Embrace the 5 R’s. Take a conscious look at the packaging and shipping options of your purchases. And check out these tips for going zero waste at home. Every little bit helps! 100 zero waste tips for home ➙ WHAT’S IT MATTER? Material footprints What is a material footprint? “Material footprint” refers to the total amount of raw materials extracted to meet the demands of consumption. It is one indication of how economic growth is putting pressure on the environment. The material needs of people living on this planet are increasing drastically. The global material footprint rose from 43 billion metric tons in 1990 to 92 billion in 2017 — an increase of 113%. One study estimates it would take 5 Earths to support the human population if everyone’s consumption patterns were similar to the average American. What comprises our material footprint? The basic ingredients for production are sun, air, water, minerals, vegetation & wildlife. These resources provide us food, energy, shelter and transportation; creating increased human health & wellbeing. Manufacturing of goods fluctuates based upon the availability of resources. The availability of resources is influenced by how efficiently they are used, the amount of waste created and the impact to the environment. Are there patterns in material usage? Our global material footprint continues to grow. Fluctuations in that growth correlate to disruptions such as war, energy crisis, recession and the recent global pandemic. The material footprint of high-income countries is more than 13x higher than that of low-income countries. The lifestyles of people in the richest nations are heavily dependent on resources extracted from poorer countries. Developed nations have also outsourced the material- and energy-intensive stages of their production to less resource-efficient countries, meaning that up to 5x as many natural resources are needed to create the same output! How will we decrease our global material footprint? Well-designed policies are necessary to enable a fundamental shift towards sustainable consumption and production patterns. The economic benefits are well understood but social benefits are still largely overlooked. Policies designed to increase diversity and inclusion are proven to support economic development. We need to implement policy that demonstrates responsible management of our Earth’s finite resources — at a personal, corporate, national and international scale! Manage your material footprint with Affirmative ➙ Check back next time: PARTNERSHIPS on AUGUST 31st: Have you heard of?: LEB SDG Spotlight: Partnerships for the Goals Impact tip: Become an Influencer What’s it matter?: Strategic Collaborations Our Newsletter is released every second Wednesday. CONTACT US with questions & suggestions! Copyright (C) *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*. All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|**|LIST:DESCRIPTION|**|END:IF|* Our mailing address is: *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|**|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|**|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe