The Importance Of Sustainability In 2011

Each year recycling and sustainability is becoming increasingly prominent in our lives

, and in 2011 you should expect many more promises and targets from government officials who want to make the UK a more eco-friendly country.

It is well reported that the UKs sustainability efforts is one of the poorest throughout the globe, which has prompted many changes to be forced in to action to help tackle the problem. One recent change from the government is that bin men will only come and collect your waste fortnightly, whereas special containers for food waste and recyclable material such as paper, cardboard, glass and recyclable cups will be collected weekly from outside your front door. The reason behind this is that homeowners will not want their wheelie bins overflowing with waste, and they will start to recycle waste, that they would have previously just thrown straight in the bin.

Its not only homeowners who now have to act ethically, businesses are also being prompted to act green, with the government providing incentives for green efforts, and punishment for unethical behaviour. Businesses such as coffee vendors now have to look at ways of becoming ethical, and they go about this by offering their customers fair trade coffee, fair trade tea as well as providing their customers and clients with recyclable cups. Companies now look to actively get involved and be associated with CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) issues, such as Strong Vend, who offers tea products that support the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) and work with PG Tips towards making a more sustainable future for tea farming.

The amount of waste every household generates is on the up, and this is because of reasons such as increased wealth leading to consumers to spend more on their groceries; supermarkets and shops offering BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free) deals which triggers consumers to purchase impulsively; increasing population meaning that there are more people on the planet to create waste; and new packaging and technological products being developed, which contain materials that are not biodegradable.

Recycling is seen as the norm for businesses and homeowners alike, with everyone getting involved in schemes to increase the amount we recycle. The government even hire waste collectors to pick it up from your front door, making the process as easy and painless as possible for the everyday consumer.

Another benefit of recycling is that it has the ability to create new jobs, in a time where unemployment is worryingly high, standing at around 7.9%. If more people recycle, the number of people required to collect, sort and process recycled items continues to grow. More jobs in the community means more money spent in local stores, more taxes collected for the city or town, and in general a healthier economy for everyone concerned.

To reiterate, sustainability is going to be a hot topic throughout 2011, as it always is. There will be innovative breakthroughs to reduce waste and unethical company behaviour will be uncovered in the media, so its important that we all do our bit for our community.

by: Alex Richards

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