30th June 2025
What is waste?
Waste can be what we throw away – what we no longer want. What goes into a waste paper bin or down the waste pipe. That paper bin might as easily be a recycling bin. The waste water pipe might feed into a grey water system and flush the loo too.
Waste can be what is left over when we have cut out the material for an item of clothing – ditto a piece of timber, a sheet of metal etc. The waste from shirt might become a matching pair of boxers, or a lavender bag. A timber off cut might become a bread board.
Waste can be the outer leaves of a cabbage, the stalk from a Brussels sprout plant, the core from an apple. Such waste can be the basis of a compost heap, or the start of a jar of cider vinegar.
Waste land can be the land we don’t cultivate – it may become a haven for biodiversity.
A waste of time – a sense that we could have made better use of the time; ditto a waste of space. But these are both subjective. Wasting time may actually be restful and restorative.
The Green Tau 