Wanted: one new (small) owner
Recycled school uniform spotted walking the neighbourhood - story 84
I am more aware of recycling having lived in Australia. In my Melbourne neighbourhood all sorts of things were left outside homes for people to claim.
Kerbside generosity. And wisdom.
Sometimes it was a sofa. Sometimes, like this case, it was a school uniform.
Recycling isn’t just about what you put in the right bin. It’s also about how you think — about reuse, about restraint, and about re-imagining waste as a resource.
Richmond residents consume, a lot
Richmond council are keen for recycling to become a routine part of daily life. And not without good reason as they explained in their Climate Strategy:
Richmond borough has the second highest per capita consumption-based emissions from households of all London boroughs, totalling 9.45 tonnes CO2e per capita (compared with 7.86 tonnes CO2e per capita for London).
Mind you we are getting better at this:
This represents a 34.7% decrease compared with 2001, when Richmond upon Thames had the highest consumption-based emissions in London.
Consumption-based emissions are defined as the things we buy and use such as food, housing and other goods and services. These high consumption levels reflect a number of things. Richmond borough is relatively well-off. Many residents have the means to buy lots. And do. This includes cars - 75% of the households acorss the borough have a car. Those emissions are included in the consumption calculation.
The scale of consumption is the reason the Richmond Council Climate Strategy includes the ambition to reduce waste.
All of which seems along way from that quiet moment that made me stop one afternoon. A neatly folded school uniform, resting on a low brick wall, waiting patiently for its next life. No sign, no fuss just an invitation, implied but unmistakable: someone else could use this.
