Ideas & Ideals

The Rapid Depletion of World Resources....

21th-century production methods rely heavily on petrochemical-based polymers which has serious consequences for our planet.

Society's throw-away attitude to products is problematic, as it relies heavily on single-use plastic made from Petrochemicals. Plastic products last longer than their usage. A disposable plastic cup, which is used for around five minutes, will last 400 years plus until the plastics eventually will break down to micro pieces. Plastics poison our waters and soil and ends up in the food chain, consumed without knowledge by both humans and animals. The toxic chemicals from plastics then end up in the soil.

The worlds’ current use of renewable raw materials, such as wood and cotton, is happening at a rate that when we are harvesting for everyday goods we are consuming them at such a rapid rate they do not have time to replenish.

The use of artificial fertilizers and modern farming methods is also leading to significant soil erosion and loss of top soilIf the population of the whole world were to consume raw materials at the same rate as the UK the requirements would be equal to 2 1/2 planets the size of earth to live off.Finding a solution to this can be approached in various different ways:

Developing an understanding that it is important to keep goods for longer and by challenging the throw-away society. Fosterer and developing and ethos goods for life. This can be done by education and understanding by more could be implemented through new tax schemes and laws.

This would result in buying longer lasting, high-quality products, that you can keep for life, that can be handed down, or that can easily be sold on and upgraded. Alternatively, make things really affordable with a short lifespan but easy to dispose of, to recycle, able to be broken down into different elements, and be able to be fed back into the earth’s circular economy.