Much has been said and written about Net Zero. Governments, Organizations, Civil & Social Groups have raised their voices about what must be done, and what will come, if not done. Yet, these groups who believe they represent the billions, are made up of just a few educated individuals whose message can often be lost, misunderstood or at worst become just another slogan or propaganda.
What is not yet made mainstream are the millions of individuals who through minute almost indifferent acts either by choice or need are beginning to change the tide. The millions for whom the “Tomorrow” discussed widely will surely come. The millions for whom the future is yet to be written, for whom life has just begun.
Driven by the cost of living crisis, by the almost impossible housing situation, by a disrupted jobs and education system, many of these Gen Zs are beginning to create wealth from waste.
Aided by apps like the brilliant Olio; The FreeCycle Network; or the socially conscious Too Good to Go; Oddbox and many others, the new generation are beginning to do what our ancestors did – share, barter, lend and borrow within the community, maximising and repurposing each resource to its fullest potential.
According to UN FAO almost a third of all food grown globally is thrown away; food that would take an area the size of China to grow and worth over a Trillion Dollars, and emitting in excess of 8% of total carbon emissions is just thrown away. Infact, over 50% of all excess carbon emissions is created by individual households, due waste and underutilisation of resources. If this waste was reduced, repurposed and the excess shared, the world would be a lot less hungrier, less poor and more socially and environmentally connected.
Recycling, repurposing and Reusing are all part of the solution, but the biggest solution would be to not waste. Instead lets share, after all sharing is caring, and in this case caring for the planet is caring for our future selves and generations to come!
At envoPAP, through our mission to create a world where no packaging harms the planet, we are using discarded Agricultural fibres to create packaging, and creating an alternative natural resource from Agricultural waste.
This is our little contribution to the movement. What’s yours? Please reply through our social media channels – LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter
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