DIY Recycling
Do-it-yourself recycling is about modifying and reusing cheap
and widely available rubbish to meet our own needs. [Skip
to projects]
Part of the appeal is simple waste-reduction. By modifying what
would otherwise be junk to meet my needs I can avoid buying something
else for the same purpose. Or if I have limited money, or in a
collapse context, I can make something useful I wouldn't otherwise
have. DIY recycling can use much less energy than full-blown industrial
recycling.
DIY recycling also allows us to keep materials in our own communities
instead of giving them right back to the corporate economy. Many
of us are hesitant to give a source of cheap raw materials to
an economy that isn't exactly renowned for making good, ethical
choices about what to do with those materials. As peak oil progresses,
militaries and corporations will no doubt have increasing demands
for all sorts of cheap raw materials and I'm not very inclined
to give them up once I have them in my hands.
Conventional recycling can give people a false sense of accomplishment.
Many people feel that by putting their blue box out on the curb
they are doing their part for the environment. In contrast, recycling
allows the system that is destroying the world to prolong itself,
and so it can even cause more damage in the long run. With DIY
recycling we take a greater personal level of responsibility for
our own waste, and acknowledge that recycling will not solve our
ecological problems.
DIY recycling is also an important part of deliberate industrial
decomposition, a subject I wrote about in Metal
theft and industrial decomposition.
Lastly, DIY recycling can be a highly creative, artistic, and
fulfilling practice. I find it very satisfying to solve a problem
by making junk into something useful. In addition, the products
of DIY recycling, such as the durable multi-ply shopping bag articles,
have the potential to be very beautiful.
I encourage you to take up DIY recycling yourself, and if you
have suggestions for projects please do write
in and let us know.
Plastic Bags:
Newspaper:
Cardboard:
Cans:
Plastic containers:
Glass containers:
Computer junk:
General junk:
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