PERMACULTURE
EVALUATION
CENTRE
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111 Principle 6: Produce No Waste
Modern society can be likened to ‘consume > excrete’
Better to design systems to make use of all its outputs
112 In nature waste can be a potential abundance as unused resources become an energy source for something else.
In traditional pre-industrial societies waste was minimal due to limited resources, and any wastes were readily recyclable as made from biodegradable materials
Waste minimisation hierarchy: refuse, reduce, re-use, repair, recycle
‘Conservation’ has lots of potential
113 At household/ personal level need to take a critical look at consumption that has become the norm (or even addictive) but unnecessary eg buying new poor quality clothes. The ‘growth economy’ is tied to dysfunctional over-consumption.
114 Re-use of containers of various kinds
115 Recycling is over-emphasised, re-use is better
Decomposition of non toxic biodegradable materials os OK once options for reuse and repar have been exhausted
116 But generally recycling opportunities will decline as transport and energy costs increase and less is wasted because of better initial design
Second Industrial Revolution? – due to redesigned manufacturing processes
117 Capitalism has been an engine of consumption and waste and is unlikely to embrace waste elimination and environmental protection wholeheartedly
118 Currently most of the existing human and social capital is configured to solve large scale technological and industrial problems within a framework of market capitalism. Thererefore we continue to re-invent the old problems in new forms. Huge numbers on military research is a case in point
119 Need more emphasis on durability and maintenance. Buildings cannot be free of maintenance, which is labour intensive. Privatisation of public infrastructure has meant standards have declined.
120 Abundance of unwanted plants and animals due to intensification of agriculture and lack of management of natural systems. We need to obtain a yield from these abundances eg rabbits
121 Wasted human resources: global economy devalues traditional skills and knowledge – the majority of people still have some personal or family experience of a culture of place and of living from renewable local resources. This resource/ capability could be an asset in transition to reduced energy availability
122 Permaculture designers working on Third World development projects often learn more than they contribute