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https://theconversation.com/exploring-the-extraordinary-potential-and-avoiding-the-pitfalls-of-your-local-buy-nothing-group-221986>
"You might have heard about your local Buy Nothing Project group on Facebook.
If not, you probably know someone who’s a member. We estimate at least one
million Australians are involved as members or live in households with a member
(probably their mum).
Buy Nothing groups enable people to ask for and give away unneeded stuff in
their neighbourhood. Whether it’s gifting excess garden produce or an outgrown
toy, or asking for winter clothes or to borrow a power tool, the groups help
people help others.
Australia has more than 500 of these groups, each with 500–3,000 members. While
ordinary in operation and humble in commitment to neighbourhood generosity,
these groups have extraordinary potential to reduce consumption and waste. Our
research also suggests they improve community wellbeing.
Homes and neighbourhoods have a big role to play in the transition to a
circular economy. This kind of economy shares, reuses, repairs, repurposes and
recycles materials and products for as long as possible. This circularity is
crucial, because getting to net zero is a difficult ask without public buy-in
on reducing consumption.
However, our research also finds Buy Nothing groups are not immune to older
gendered scripts of household labour. Most group members are women, many of
them mothers. It is they who are taking, or expected to take, responsibility
for finding or disposing of the stuff that fills their family’s homes and
lives. This has troubling implications for how we think about action and
responsibility for household waste."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
