The 5Rs of sustainability

There are infinite ways to reduce your consumption and help to conserve the world's resources. This blog post gives three examples that Earthlore have utilized to prolong the life of items that may otherwise have gone to landfill. 

The zipper on the above raincoat failed and as replacing zips is tricky, Janine replaced the zipper with Velcro. This has lengthened the lifespan of the jacket by a further 5 years to date and the coat will no doubt, survive a few more years yet.

This empty feed sack has been repurposed so we can use it to collect manure from the donkey paddock. It is held open with the top cut from an old plastic drum and the legs are offcuts of wood used to build steps in the terraces. It is not pretty but it is functional.

When the hearth shovel broke, Gordon repaired it, strengthening the handle so it could be repurposed as the pooper-scooper. As plastic takes an age to breakdown, it should never be thrown away.

So, to recap: if you don't need it - don't buy it. If you can reuse it - please do so. If the item breaks - get creative and repair it. If it can't be fixed - if possible, give it another purpose. If all else fails - recycle it.

Posted by Gordon Thompson on April 24, 2022