Recycling Lessons From The Developing World

The concept of recycling in Canada is very different from what you might see in impoverished countries in Africa, Asia, and South America. Richer societies can afford to waste leftovers, whether in the form of food, packaging, clothing, or energy. We also pay to have our recyclables taken away, whereas the developing world reuses almost everything. In fact, it is not uncommon to see children playing with toys made of water bottles, sticks, and coat hanger wires.

Christian Children’s Fund of Canada, a child-centered international development organization, offers recycling tips from the developing world that you can use here at home:

• Consider planting some organic produce in your backyard. Eating organically grown produce is the norm for most people living in small villages in poorer countries. Organically grown food is healthy and good for the environment.

• Conserve water whenever possible. Clean drinking water is a scarce resource in the developing world and therefore used very sparingly. In fact, rainwater harvesting tanks are constructed in many villages to retain and make the most of the precious water that is available. You can be mindful of wasting water too. Little things like not letting the water run while you brush your teeth, taking shorter showers, and repairing dripping taps all help to conserve your water supply.

• Plastic bottles are reused over and over again in different ways in developing countries because of the expense of buying new ones. Besides throwing yours into the recycling bin here at home, you can refill your water bottles and convert them into reusable icepacks in lunches or picnic baskets.

Learn more about how developing countries use their natural resources effectively online at www.ccfcanada.ca.

Tagged as: Developing, From, Lessons, recycling, World