The Alternative

What would an alternative Look Like?

If recycling alone won’t save us and prevention is the only way to truly address the world’s waste problem, where do we go from here? Prevention can feel more than a little scary as, unlike recycling, it requires a more systemic shift in how we live, work and do business. That shift can be hard to imagine for those of us who have grown up in a world based on the regular purchase, use and disposal of everything, from food to textiles and electronics. So is another world even possible?
 
The answer is yes!
 
Take a look at some of the following examples of prevention…
  • In the home: getting milk in reusable bottles from the milk round, passing on outgrown kids’ clothes to friends and relatives, borrowing tools from neighbours rather than buying.
  • In the community: Libraries, repair cafes, swap shops, Freegle
  • In business: The cobbler, scrap metal merchant, Etsy upcycler, antiques dealer, second hand selling sites like Vinted, Depop etc.
 
These are just a few examples and there are many more! But, for now, there are some things about them that are worth noting:
  1. These initiatives are already with us. In fact, many of them have been with us for years! So change doesn’t always have to be ‘radical’, ‘new’ or – much overused word – ‘innovative’ because many elements of this ‘other world’ are already with us in the present. And we can learn a lot from them.
  2. People still get to have, exchange and enjoy material goods. Many of us have a fear that a world without loads of new stuff will be joyless and hard work. That we’ll feel like we’re missing out or going without. But check out the examples in the list above and you’ll see that finding, having, using and enjoying beautiful THINGS is still very much possible. It’s just we’re coming by them in different ways – ways that are not tied to the constant extraction and processing of raw materials.
  3. Businesses still get to thrive. A society and economy that’s focused on a prevention creates plentiful opportunities for businesses to succeed as an integral part of their local communities: think upcyclers, menders, customisers, innovators, distributors, event organisers – and many more, all of whom will help a more circular economy to thrive.

 

There are many ways of describing the kinds of approaches and examples listed here. In fact, you might already have heard them described when you hear people talking about a ‘circular’,‘zero waste’ or ‘regenerative’ economy. These are all really useful and exciting ways of thinking about waste and how it connects to other environmental and social issues.

What is a regenerative economy?

A regenerative economy is a network of local people, organisations and businesses who live and work in a way that protects and restores the environment, builds healthier communities and improves people’s wellbeing.
 
The concept of regeneration is not a new idea – it’s an approach that has informed many indigenous societies and cultures across the world for thousands of years, and it continues to inform them today. However, it has also become popular in the West in recent years as an alternative to the idea of sustainability. That’s because, while sustainability is based on maintaining what we have, regeneration is about doing better. It’s about actually restoring, repairing and rehabilitating the health and wellbeing of society and the ecosystems that we are a part of.
 
Is the existing environment and economy one that we want to try and sustain? Or one that needs checking into rehab? With current figures from WWF showing that global biodoversity has declined by an average of 68% since 1970 and a 2022 report from Oxfam highlighting how the richest 1% of the global population own more than twice as much wealth as 6.9 billion people combined, the answer is fairly obvious. 
 
Because, while sustainability looks like working hard to cling on to a system that’s killing us, regeneration is about rolling up our sleeves and repairing things. This is where a regenerative economy comes into play because, unlike conventional approaches which tend to treat the economy, the environment and human wellbeing as separate issues requiring separate solutions, regenerative approaches tackle them together by breathing life back into essential parts of the local economy and ecology which meet community needs.

What does a regenerative economy look like in practice?

A regenerative economy is made up of different types of regenerative enterprises that meet real community needs at the same time as restoring damaged ecosystems. These could be community initiatives or groups, charities, social enterprises and other types of not-for-profit business. Some examples might include:
  • A small business like Relic Plastic that makes use of a material currently going to waste (food, textiles, plastic, etc)
  • Workshops like those run by The Edinburgh Remakery where people can learn about refurbishing, fixing and repairing.
  • A shared community building that is affordable for startups, community groups and regenerative enterprises to use.
  • A market garden like The Plot that grows and distributes seasonal, organic veg locally and trains new growers who want to produce local food.
  • A village stall for swapping surplus veg, plants and seeds like Silverdale Garden Surplus Stall.
If you’re interested in learning more about the origins of regenerative economy (also called REconomy) and some of its main characteristics, you can read this scoping study which was published by Ethical Consumer Research and Consultancy in 2023.
 
Here in North Lancashire, the Closing Loops project has also been working hard to think about what a regenerative economy looks like, leading the the development of a REconomy strategy for the district. 
 
Can you think of some examples of a regenerative economy at work in the place where you live? If so, we’d love to hear about them. Tell us here…