Disused objects are things people have fallen out of love with and that are thrown away.
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
When we get rid of them, we often do that in a way that seems to imply that we are wishing not to see the things ever again. We put them in a black bag like a corpse to be buried in a grave, the landfill site.
So people, though, can't be bothered to even do that, so therefore you’ll see mattresses, TV sets, table legs, even entire garden sheds or bathroom suites, being thrown out or flytipped.
At the London Marathon, there tend to be as many plastic bottles strewn across the road as there were runners. In fact, many more bottles than there are runners. Then again, even if the runners would wish to dispose of them properly this cannot be done in London. No litter bins. They were removed during the IRA bombing campaign and as far as I have seen they do not seem to have come back. That is why London looks like a rubbish tip.
In our consumerist society, we are asked to buy more and recycle more. Why are weekly bin collections such a political hot potato? Surely, we should be arguing that we should all waste less in the first place and reuse what we can. But, just suggest that a little too publicly and ask people not to participate in the consumer society and you are being called a terrorist. Yes, a terrorist, for not going out and indulging in the “buy, buy, buy” culture.
As far as our government's thinking on that level is concerned then this place here is a definitely den of terrorism for I am forever thinking about what I can make out of this or that item that others simply would throw away.
It would help people a great deal if packaging could be designed in such a way as to have ideas printed on them as to what the item of packaging “waste” could be upcycled into. But this is not being done.
Recently I upcycled two cardboard wine boxes – they are rather of a strong cardboard – into magazine storage boxes. The original packaging came my way from a delivery of four bottles of ginger wine I was sent for review and I really did not want to waste the boxes.
Well, they are no doing a good service in looking after some magazines on the shelf and simply converting them by doing a little bit of measuring, marking and cutting, has saved me a couple of dollars; probably around six or so.
If such boxes would have the design ideas printed on them already people might think about doing just such or similar conversions for use at home or in the office. This could also be done with so many other things, but being done it is not.
Well, on the other hand, it give me things to think about and to write about...
© 2012
