Unmasking the Recycling Illusion
In a heart-warming moment with my four-year-old, I was reminded of the significance of circularity, repair, and reuse. As he suggested taking his broken toy bus to his grandmother in India, fondly referring to her as a "fixer," it sparked a deeper contemplation about the value we can learn from other cultures – often from the global south – and how it contrasts with our own here in Scotland.
Has recycling been oversold as a panacea, obscuring the pressing challenges of overconsumption and waste generation?
Recycling campaigns have played a significant role in curbing landfill waste. But scientists are now raising a crucial point: are we too focused on recycling that we're neglecting the bigger issue of waste generation caused by our consumption habits? In a ground-breaking essay from the University of Virginia's interdisciplinary researchers, the psychology of waste reveals that our fixation on recycling has inadvertently masked the larger problem of waste generation, an inevitable result of our consumption lifestyles.
According to the researchers, many individuals now perceive recycling as a "get-out-of-jail-free card," neglecting other essential aspects of waste reduction. The consequence is a disconnect between what items are genuinely recyclable and the increasing waste production catastrophe we face.
As we set out on the Novel Solutions to Wicked Problems initiative, we're taking on two key challenges: changing behaviours and improving processes. How do we genuinely address behavioural change in Scotland? And where are the bottlenecks in our processes that hold us back from delivering real change?
The heart of our journey lies in learning from the incredible Jyoti Mhapsekar and her band of 3000 waste pickers in Mumbai. They've tackled similar challenges head-on, and we'll gain insights into the hooks and incentives that sparked behavioural shifts. We'll discover how they measured their progress and celebrated the positive changes taking root.
There's something profound about creating social value – something that the waste pickers in Mumbai were all about. They were on a mission to uplift their lives, create better job opportunities, and break free from poverty. What potential social value wins could we achieve in Scotland through this initiative? Reducing infrastructure costs to invest more in healthcare and schools? Creating valuable commodities and revenue streams? Nurturing skills and industries? The possibilities are endless.
Come, join us on this thrilling Novel Solutions adventure to observe, learn, and act.