Resource Sustainability

Reduce – Reuse – Repair – Recycle 

• Do you need new?

• Do you need as much?

• Can you repair things / make them last?

The focus of this theme is on non-renewable resources and/or the energy consumed to convert all resources into products. The unsustainable depletion of renewable resources is more of a focus for food and ecological sustainability – though it is worth considering Earth Overshoot Day and its illustration of how we are using renewable resources faster than the planet can renew them. For the UK; Earth Overshoot Day 2024 is 3 June. If you have time, do read more about Earth Overshoot.

a sliced triangular graphic. The words reduce, reuse, repair, recycle and landfill are displayed in descending size order from the widest part of the triangle

Think Global

People with specialist tools and equipment work to repair a broken appliance

Act local

Act now

a sliced triangular graphic. The words reduce, reuse, repair, recycle and landfill are displayed in ascending size order from the bottom of the triangle

Think Global

The key message on Resource Sustainability is that while recycling is great, it is not the best option. Better by far is to:

  • refrain from buying an item
  • insist on less packaging
  • hire an item
  • buy second hand
  • mend an item
  • sell/donate something languishing in your cupboards – freeing up your storage and saving someone else from having to buy neckaging,

  • Globally, Fast Fashion produces over 92 million tonnes of waste and consumes 79 trillion litres of water per year, with developing countries often bearing the burden for developed countries. In the UK, it’s estimated that more than two tonnes of clothing are bought each minute, more than any other country in Europe. Surprisingly readable for a Parliamentary report, the UK’s Environmental Audit Committee explores a range of harm caused by Fast Fashion in its report ‘Fixing Fashion’.
  • In Scotland we are getting better at reducing landfill. Our 2022 total of 585,000 tonnes was over 10% lower than the previous year. Zero Waste Scotland has a range of useful articles exploring different ways we can make better use of the things we own and what to do if they break or we no longer need them.
  • While we are getting better at recycling, we all need to do more on reducing, re-using, and repairing. Getting all these right makes a direct contribution to the wellbeing of both our planet and our pockets. There are lots of small steps you can take to stop generating waste. 
People with specialist tools and equipment work to repair a broken appliance
Working with Balfron and Drymen, Killearn is developing a Repair Cafe – what do you have that needs mended?

Act Local

There are a range of mini and micro activities that help Killearn uses resources more sustainably.

  • Since 2021, a team of volunteers have run Killearn’s Little Library (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1344147145987785) in the Village Hall.
  • In 2023, the Spring Swish clothes swap event saw 237 items of clothing escape from neglected wardrobes and a number of happy villagers getting ‘new-to-them’ outfits without spending a penny.
  • Killearn Primary School Nursery collects old printer ink cartridges for recycling.
  • The Killearn Pharmacy, at their own expense, now has boxes to collect both inhalers and medicine ‘blister packs’ for recycling.
  • Killearn Co-op has a blue bin to collect soft plastics – bread bags, crisp and pasta packets – for recycling.
  • Over the course of three events Cycling Killearn was able to donate to Recyke-a-Bike 40 pre-loved bikes that had been lying in sheds and garages in Killearn. Now repaired and refurbished, the bikes are back in the community, supporting sustainable travel.
  • Killearn is now partnering with Drymen and Balfron to operate a Repair Cafe. Once a month you can take along torn clothes or broken electricals to be mended by volunteers.
  • Reduce the amount of packaging you use by stocking up on dry goods and cleaning products at a Zero Waste shop – a wide range of products is available at Gavin’s Mill in Milngavie (next to Tesco) and Turnip the Beet even has zero waste takeways and sustainable wine taps.

Across Killearn both volunteers and local organisations are doing amazing things. It is great to see individuals posting items they no longer need on the Facebook page of ‘Killean For All’ and there is usually a strong response when appeals are made for support to key organisations such as Maryhill Integration Network or Help the Homeless Glasgow. However, there is so much more we should be doing. Could you help on one of the existing initiatives or, better still, start up your own?

People look through rails of used clothes in a village hall
A Village Hall Swish event is a great way to refresh wardrobes in low-cost planet-friendly way

Act Now

This aspect of sustainability represents the largest opportunity for each of us to make a difference. When we choose not to buy new, when we choose to reuse or repair, when we choose to recycle, we are making choices that will impact our future and our planet’s future

Essentially, you should try to reduce, reuse, repair, recycle. Items should only be burnt (for energy) or sent to landfill, if there is no other option.

  • Giving presents; – choose experiences or pre-loved items
  • Can’t wait for the next Swish event; treat yourself to a shopping spree at Transition Stirling’s Reuse Hub. And if fashion is your thing that why not take part in Second Hand September https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/second-hand-september/ The link also helps explain Slow Fashion and Ethical Fashion 
  • Jeans with a broken zip or a kettle that won’t boil? Why not take them to the Repair Café operated by Killearn, Drymen, and Balfron?
  • Make a note of all the different recycling option in the village, take advantage of them while you are out and about – and support local businesses 
  • Ensure you know what you can put in each of the council-collected bins and please please ensure you don’t put the wrong thing in a bin. Too high a level of contamination can lead to entire loads missing out on recycling and ending up in landfill, and that is not what is wanted.