A Journey to Understanding Sustainability
Article on Medium Here
Katie Conlon Jan 19, 2021
No Away, but a way forward
Recycling is a misunderstood word. People often associate it as a positive action, with beneficial results for society. However, race-to-the bottom globalization of the waste trade has resulted in a situation where recycling is often not a service actually provided...
Packaging Facts : A new way to see what you buy
What if we had ‘Packaging Facts’ similarly to how we have ‘Ingredients Facts’ mandated for products today? We know what is inside our food, but what about on the outside? These 'Packaging Facts' labels would be justified not only for the health of the consumer -due...
Caught in the Treadmill of Wasting
"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate" -Jung. Even at the end of the day, if the waste management system works seamlessly, efficiently, it is still destroying and wasting resources at a faster and faster rate...
What can we learn from collapse, and how does the global response to material markets parallel with climate change?
The global recycling markets effectively collapsed in January 2018. It was not a slow decline, but a sudden jolt due to an abrupt shift in Chinese policy. China up until this point had been the ‘golden egg-laying goose’ of US, Australia, Japan, Europe, and...
Unraveling the waste narrative
Trying to understand waste issues is like pulling a string and unraveling a whole sweater. Processes that are more 'masked' or 'hidden' in the US or Europe or Japan, are laid bare in places like India. A lot of people complain about 'mis-management' of waste here....
A global south perspective on circular economy
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Thinking Positive ~
It was tumultuous to have to leave Sri Lanka right after the bombings in April. It is a country I have grown to love and appreciate for the warmth and hospitality of the people; the temples and spirituality; the biodiversity and incredible landscapes; the thousands...
Can the tide of plastic be contained?
Mt. Lavinia Beach Sri Lanka, An optimistic sized globe to contain the large quantities of plastic that wash up on this beach. It started out properly segregated into just PET bottles (which have a market value, so in theory someone will pick it up) but as the...