I was in an air-conditioned shopping centre hiding from the Australian summer heat and had just finished drinking a flavoured milk. So, I went to drop the empty carton in a bin where I was offered several options: glass, plastic or landfill.
Those recycling bins are a great idea because I am immediately presented with the effects of my consumer choices. My 600 mls of sugary fat will find its way flushed out past Bondi Beach, and the waxed paper container it came in is going to sit in landfill while it very slowly decomposes. Normally, I throw my rubbish into a bin with all the other poor choices consumers have made, and I don't think about my actions.
So, it got me thinking about how we paint our homes. There are many products
we can choose to paint our houses, but if we think about where the product will eventually end up, then perhaps paint consumers might make better decisions about product choice.
So, instead of simply reaching for the cheapest can of brightly coloured acrylic, maybe we should consider hybrid coatings, or traditional lime-based, cement-based, clay-based, milk-based or mineral-based paints that are all simple to apply, have character and depth, and don't break down into tiny pieces of plastic that find their way into all parts of our world...
Send me an email if you have any questions or comments.
Carl