I know that parties for your children can be an overwhelming and exhausting experience. Many parents these days are opting for the ‘wizz bang all in one’ indoor kids party venue. Very appealing. Arrive, make a complete mess, and let someone else clean it up. All you have to do is fork out the cash.
Whilst it is true that most kids enjoy running around these places high on sugar, spare a thought for the sheer volume of waste that leaves these places headed straight for landfill. Frightening!
The photos above are from the same kids party venue on the same day. Unfortunately most of us either don’t see (or don’t want to see) the picture on the right – but this is the reality!
If you give your child a simple birthday party are they going to hate you for ever? Will the parents of the other children start talking about you behind your back? Do you care?
What ever happened to simple birthday parties?…is there, or was there,ever any such thing?
over&over
wm
Once a ‘petrol head’ always a ‘petrol head’.
This is the cardboard box to a model remote control HUMMER that someone has tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to stuff into the ‘recycling’ bin.
It would appear that even as a toy, the HUMMER creates an environmental ‘heaviness’ that just continues to flourish into it’s adult life.
Bad habits start young!
over&over
wm
Why am I so obsessed with recycling messages on packaging?
Firstly because packaging provides the perfect place to print recycling messages, and secondly, because it is so important to get the messages right and so often they are not quite technically correct.
Here is an example which is actually quite good – to my mind, correct.
The label is telling the consumer that the packaging (in this case a steel paint can) is made from steel and that STEEL is a RECYCLABLE material. It could go further and let us know where to put the package once we are finished with it. We may get there one day.
The example above is from a standard jar of vegemite. The label simply reads, “please recylcle”.
Can you see the difference between the two examples above?
‘PLEASE RECYCLE’ – What does this mean? Is it a general statement, or a call to action? It doesn’t tell me what the packaging is made from. Also, there is a difference between the words recycle and recyclable.
I know I’m probably sounding pedantic, perhaps even neurotic, but environmental messaging on packaging is very important. It needs to be clear, prominent and correct. Keep an eye out and let me know if you see something that catches your attention.
wasteman over&over…
Spotted this van in the street.
I’ve heard of Second Bite but I must admit I don’t know a lot about them.
Food waste. I simple can’t believe we even let these words pass our lips when one considers how many people are hungry.
Here’s a little info from the second bite website…
Did you know?
- 3.28 million tonnes of food is driven to landfill in Australia each year – from which the embedded water could supply Melbourne and Sydney for an entire year
- 25-30% of food we produce is lost post-harvest and never reaches the consumer plate
- 30-40% of Australian household rubbish is food waste
- 1 kg of beef takes 50,000 litres of water to produce from paddock to plate
- Food waste in Australian landfills is the second largest source of methane – a gas 23 times more destructive than C02 from cars
Here is the website link.
http://www.secondbite.org/
Just before I go, this reminds me of the time, about 2 weeks ago, when I sat next to a family in a restaurant. They hugely over ordered and subsequently, a mass of perfectly good food was taken back to the kitchen and dumped. I was too embarrassed to ask them for it. But the waste made me feel sick.
I wouldn’t imagine too many people in the same position would have asked for the food…would you?
See also the English site http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/
The crying pear just kills me everytime.
wasteman
I often walk past this home.
The garden is immaculate. One very proud gardener lives here. This is not a great photo however you might be able to make out the passion fruit and grape vine growing across the top of the light timber frame. Out of picture there are many other beautiful fruit trees. I’ve been passing by this house for years.
Anyway, the point is, I noticed today that a brand new water tank has arrived (see green arrow).
Wow! This is a real sign of the times. Water is becoming more and more scarce. Don’t panic. Just don’t waste it!
over&over
wasteman
I just had to take the photo…
I’d love to receive some photos…”waste related” of course!
over&over
wasteman
Well. Lucky I was watching the tele tonight otherwise I may have never known about National Recycling Week. Is this a new thing? It would appear not! Would you believe National Recycling Week is in it’s thirteenth year!
Anyway, wasteman has certain views on recycling which I would be happy to share with anyone who is interested.
Until then, if you would like to know more about National Recycling Week, here is the website:
http://recyclingweek.planetark.org/
over&over
wasteman