Reuse: My Sustainability Lesson From My Visit To The Muttart Conservatory
One of my most enthralling reads this week was an article written by S M Mamunur Rahman, The School of Nature. He took us on a journey into the natural world and pointed out profound life lessons.
I always believe that a deeper appreciation of the natural world will not only change how we interact with nature it will also change our lives.
It will help if you read his article.
S M Mamunur’s article inspired me to write about my visit to the Muttart Conservatory.
The Muttart Conservatory is one of the largest indoor botanical collections In Canada. It is in the river valley in the downtown area of Edmonton, in the province of Alberta. The conservatory is known for its four large pyramids, three representing the tropical, temperate, and arid biomes. The fourth is a feature pyramid that hosts a seasonal display. The current exhibit of the feature pyramid is the Junkyard.
While walking around the junkyard feature pyramid, I remembered the words of two great environmentalists: David Suzuki, a world-renowned environmental activist, and Allen Steffan, an award-winning writer and one of the world’s leading voices on sustainability.
“In nature, there is no such thing as waste. In nature, nothing is wasted: everything is recycled” David Suzuki.
“There is no such thing as garbage, just useful stuff in the wrong place,” Alex Steffen.
These statements above bring to the fore the significance of REUSE as a waste management strategy. According to the US EPA, Source reduction and reuse are the most environmentally preferred waste management strategy; however, it does not receive as much attention as recycling does.
Fortunately, reuse is one of the waste management strategies that can be implemented at any level, from individuals to large business corporations.
Reuse is as simple as it sounds; it is using a product more than once, either in its exact form or for the same or similar purpose. For the sake of this article, the term reuse will broadly include repurposing.
Reuse reduces the need to extract raw materials to manufacture new products. It is also a means to prevent solid waste from entering the landfill and decrease greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and energy use for waste treatment and management.
For instance, in the textile industry, about 3–4 pounds of CO2 are saved for every pound of cloth that is spared from the disposal. There are also benefits in reducing fertilizer use, water use, and waste pollution. Reuse provides innovative and creative solutions to waste challenges by reducing landfilling and associated pollution due to transportation.
Economically, reuse offers many business opportunities. Secondhand markets and thrift stores are billion-dollar industries; we can see that in the fashion and automobile industries. It had the potential of opening new markets and creating jobs for the local communities.
Take a good look around your home, garage, pantry, and recycling bin, and you will be amazed at how many items can be reused.
The Muttart Conservatory, through its junkyard feature pyramid, has shown us that there is nothing in our homes and yards that cannot be reused or repurposed, and they have also gone ahead to show us how.
About 1 billion to 1.8 billion used tires are disposed of yearly. About 300 million used tires are sent to landfills in the United States annually. The problem is growing with the increasing population.
Waste tires present many environmental challenges; piles of tires in landfills are breeding homes for disease-carrying rodents and emit harmful chemicals during decomposition.
Their high flammability presents a massive problem for communities around the landfill as burning tires release carcinogenic chemicals.
Do you feel a need to dispose of those tires? Are they just occupying space, and you want to clear them out of your garage? All you need is a paint and the desire and see how you create the beautiful little ecosystems around you.
Do you know that your little mugs can be a home to some little but important plant species?
Did you see the bed frame, the bedside stool, and the mirror? What can we call these, a bedroom of plants?
Do you know that those abandoned wooden doors in your backyard can serve as suitable structures for climbing plants?
Our future is our responsibility, and we all can do something no matter how little.
Ensure you reuse old jars and pots, waste papers, woods, clothes, and tires as many times as possible
Donate old clothes and books to public libraries and charity institutions.
Check out for local material exchange networks to see if your materials can be reused by someone else.
Families with young children can encourage them to make instruments or build something out of cereal boxes or Tupperware. This will help develop their creative skills.
Patronize second-hand stores: Second-hand stores and garage sales offer usable items. You save money and the environment and contribute to your local market.
I hope we all draw inspiration from these pictures above and start considering how to reuse or repurpose material in our homes. In this way, you contribute to saving natural resources and energy.
Remember, there is no such thing as WASTE.
