June 7th, 2013
I was recently speaking to my son’s great-grandmother about her experience of using nappies when her children were in diapers fifty-something years ago. She simply shrugged her shoulders and said, “Well, I was one of the lucky ones — I had a washing machine by the time the first one arrived.”
Read more on Don’t throw in the towel – the case for reusable nappies…
May 31st, 2012
by Thomas Vergunst
The G8 leaders’ announcement of a renewed emphasis on promoting economic growth may have been widely welcomed – but for those of us keen to see an economy that better reflects the waste hierarchy it raises an interesting question. Does better waste management tend to promote or reduce growth and employment?
January 12th, 2012
by Thomas Vergunst
The Christmas break provided me with an ideal opportunity to reflect on the state of the world, although I fear some may call it a morbid preoccupation that is best avoided. Christmas, they might say, is about celebrations and rewarding oneself after a hard year’s work. After all, are we not all worth it? Do we not deserve to be spoilt? But I feel that reflection is now a necessity. We can no longer divorce ourselves from the environmental and social implications of our consumer lifestyles.
December 12th, 2011
by Thomas Vergunst
Demand for it is expected to rise by at least 50% by 2050. China, Morocco, the US, South Africa and Jordan control 85% of global reserves, which, according to some sources, are only expected to last another 50-100 years. The price in the EU rose by 800% in 2008 and the UK imports over 600,000 tonnes each year, at a cost of over £100m. But this isn’t a fossil fuel or a rare earth metal – it is phosphorus, an essential plant nutrient and an element for which there is no substitute. Therefore, as supplies of rock phosphate start dwindling there will be no possibility for shifting to alternatives – we will be forced to improve both the efficiency with which we extract/use the material and the rate at which we recover it from our waste streams.
