Sustainability: the 7 R's & our first steps at the CynOli Home

Back in march, I took a course on sustainable engineering and it was really nice to brush up on these principles. It reminded me that as an engineer, I have a duty to promote sustainable development and environmental stewardship. Although I am not here to teach you on sustainable engineering, I would like to share with you the basic concept of sustainability and sustainable living. So here we go...

What is sustainability?

Sustainability refers to Earth's natural resources as well as its ecosystems being able to co-exist or thrive along side human civilization. The three pillars of sustainability are economics, society and the environment working together to create a nice equilibrium. Trying to maintain such balance is quite complex. I really like Kate Raworth's concept of doughnut economics which provides a big picture on Earth's physical limits we should not exceed and society's basics needs we need to meet. (I encourage you to listen to her TED talk for a better understanding of the concept). If you take a look at the diagram below, you can see that we have already exceeded some of Earth's ecological limits like land conversion (for example: losing forests and wetlands). And on the other hand, we fail to meet many of society's basic needs like water access to all and social equity.

Doughnut economics from Kate Raworth (source: www.sustainablejungle.com)

Are you still with me? I hope so because I'm done with the terminologies. All this to say, simply, that the earth we live in has its physical limits and we need to be more mindful of how we exploit it for our development. And a major part of the problem is that a lot of industries exploit the earth beyond its limits just to make a profit even though there are alternatives available to them - but the effort would be more and the profit less. Then you add marketing to the mix which influences us to buy stuff and in turn encourages industries to keep producing more stuff! Have you watch the story of stuff? if not, you should check it out.

The 7 R's of sustainability

Industries and corporations will have the biggest impact by rethinking their products, the way they are produced and returned to earth at the end of their life cycle. But as consumers, we also have a role to play. This brings me to the 7 R's of sustainability and how we, as consumers, can take action for a more sustainable way of life.

1. Refuse : refuse to buy stuff you don't need. It takes training, I know. It's hard to resist things that you like or desire especially if you have the money to pay for it. Refuse also refers to refusing to buy something because of the way it is made or the impact it has. For example, refusing to buy products that involve animal cruelty, child slavery, harmful chemicals, or things that you know cannot easily be returned to raw materials.

2. Reduce: For stuff you just can't refuse, you can try to reduce your need for them or reduce how much you use/waste. Example: reducing your need to use your car.

3. Reuse: when we reuse something after the intended use, we stop it from going to waste and this helps us reduce our need for new stuff.

4. Repair: same principle as reuse like repairing shoes or furniture.

5. Repurpose: same principle as reuse. To repurpose means to use something for something it wasn't initially designed for after you've used it for its original purpose. Example: using an old butter bowl to store food in the freezer or using Royal Dansk butter cookie tin box to store hair barrettes (Where my Caribbeans at? lol);

6. Recycle: to return something back to raw materials (or close enough) to be used again to make new stuff. That way manufacturers don't have to get it directly from the earth. Recycling is tricky though because not everything we put in the recycling bin gets recycled. For instance, only 9% of the plastic that is thrown out actually gets recycled. Sustainability does not start with recycling!

7. Rot (compost) : the most direct way to return to earth what we take from it. Food waste and organic materials become nutrient-rich soil.

The 7 R's into the linear materials economy (Source: wildchildedmonton.wordpress.com)

So why is this important and why should you care?

When I take my vegetable peels and put them in the compost, or when I refuse a plastic straw at the restaurant, are these actions going to change things? no! but it makes ''a'' difference. And soon enough I will start to influence Oli, my friends and my readers. There is already a large group of people who make sustainability a lifestyle, and their voices are being heard. Governments and industries will pick up and hopefully make a significant change and have global impact. I care because I live on this earth and I think it is filled with so many wonders. I would like for us to preserve it and for future generations to see it and enjoy it.

First few sustainable commitments at the CynOli Home

Here are the first steps we are committing to in our #CynOliHome as part of our journey towards a more sustainable life at home:

1. Making sure none of the lightings from the previous owner are incandescent and switching to LED lighting (Reduce energy consumption);

2. Buying energy-efficient appliances (Reduce);

3. No more paper towels! We decided to stop buying paper towels and only use washable cleaning rags (aka Oli's old T-shirts) and washable table napkins (Refuse/Reduce);

4. Continue hanging our clothes vs using the dryer whenever possible (Reduce);

5. Continue bringing our reusable tote bags to the groceries (Reuse);

6. Incorporating more bulk shopping and local farmers' markets in our grocery runs (Reduce);

7. Incorporating vegan meals into our weekly meal prep (Reduce);

8. Composting (Rot);

9. Recycling our paper, cardboard, and plastic waste (Recycle);

10. More use of homemade products:

    1. Homemade cleaning solution. Hello baking soda and vinegar! (Repurpose)

    2. Homemade body scrub with our coffee grounds (Rot / Repurpose)

And you? What have you been doing at home to live a more sustainable life? Will you join Oli and I on any of the things listed above? And please note that it's not about being perfect, it's about making better choices and creating better habits. Start where you are and tackle one thing at a time.

With love,

Cyn