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FOREWORD: 'Recycling' tends to come with an expectation that a material can be again what it once was. However, plastic is here to prove that while 'theoretically' a plastic bottle POSTconsumer, its 'plastic' can be recovered, and reused to produce a plastic bottle again. However, the evidence is that it is much more 'cost effective', or economically sustainable, or just plainly more profitable, to make more NEWplastic for the 'plastcic bottles' we want and that we have come to need.

Consequently, OLDplastic accumulates in THEenvironment, in warehouses and in LANDfill. Otherwise it is floating in a waterway or an ocean somewhere by-and-large out of sight and for the most part out of mind. Well out of mind for legislators and regulators who, as it turns out are are dedicated to facilitating the maintenance of the status quo in the CULTURALlandscape rather than facilitate change – the changes needed to accommodate change brought on by the disruptions and advances in technology and their aftermath.

It needs to be said here that what applies to 'plastics' also applies to a myriad of POSTconsumer materials and resources.

Essentially, all this is largely to do with the 'players' in governance's and civic administration's need to resist change in order to preserve their wellbeing, their salaries, their lifestyles. The schism that the world has come blighted by is the schism between the governors and the governed. One wanting/needing 'change' the other resisting change – albeit at various degrees.

This needs to be said given that one way or another it is in the mindsets and background somewhere as the need for 'change', meaningful change, is grappled with and in terms of 'resource recovery' the time has come for a concerted effort to recover lost opportunities.


THE RECYCLING NEED

Recycling is generally understood to be the process of converting waste materials – POSTconsumer materials – into new materials and products – typically products close to being like the CONSUMEDproduct. Often this includes the recovery of some of the energy spent in 'making of' the waste materials.

The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the properties and or resources it had as a CONSUMABLEproduct. It is intended as an alternative to "conventional" waste stream disposal where the materials – the spent resources and energy – are lost, spent, thrown way. The intention being to save the materials and help mitigate against greenhouse gas emissions along with the other toxic outcomes of industrial processes.

It is intended that 'recycling' prevents the waste of useful materials and reduces the consumption of and the need for fresh raw materials. Similarly there is an intention to reduce the need for energy supplies, and mitigate against the production of air pollution and water pollution that comes from consigning unspent resources to LANDfill.

Recycling is marketed as a key component of modern waste reduction and it is said to represent the third step in the "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" waste hierarchy. Recycling is also marketed as contributing to environmental sustainability and resource conservation.

STORY LINK

Recycling is marketed as promoting environmental sustainability by removing raw material input and redirecting waste output in the economic system. In reality 'status qouism' resists much of recycling's marketed rhetoric.

There are some standards related to recycling, like there is for plastics waste. The evidence thus far suggests that the 'recycling rhetoric'is not matched by its outcomes.

Consequently, there is a need to 'MARKET the purposefulness' of recycling in order to effect the real and present need to achieve a 'cycling' of resources that equates with the LIFEcycling to be found in ecosystems. That is a 'cycling' that which is readily observable in the planet's ecosystems. When we take a critical look at these 'systems' the modeling is clear to be seen.

The realisation that there is 'no away to chuck stuff to' means that new words may be need to assist in conveying and maketing the 'cycling' message. 'ONcycling' might be useful in invoking the notion of seeking the NEXTlife, NEXTuse,and/or the NEXTpurpose a material/resource might find itself fulfilling. The unfulfilled promise of 'recycling' may well turn out the subject for a PhD thes'is sometime soon. Whatever, THEauthorities make the diversion from LANDfill, and ideas like ZERO WASTE, harder than need be given the stumble stones put in innovators' way.

THE TECHNOCRATS

The reuse of reclaimed resources typically come with three inhibitors:

• The toxic cargo that come with the resource that is either inherent or has been added in it last manifestation; and

• The status quo syndrome that tends to assert that there is a 'proper way' that must be observed, and is backed up by rules and regulations drawn up by functionaries seeking one-size-fits-all policable guidlines; and

• An antithesis to divergent thinking in design processes that can deliver divergent and audatious outcomes.

These factors in combination present formidable blockages in achieving meaningful change supported by governance. If one looks for the evidence it is readily available. For instance in 2019 Launceston City Council declared "A Climate Emergency" and within the six years since the city:

• Manages a Waste Management Centre where resources are taken and in large part wasted; and

• Major expenditure has been committed to the construction and maintenance of LANDfill cells – again a missed opportunity to invest in a sustainable future; and

• Has presided over committing just on half of the city's so-called waste stream to LANDfill – again a missed opportunity to invest in a sustainable future; and

• Has invoked tokenistic social climate remediation initiatives – again a missed opportunity to invest in a sustainable future; and

• Has made minimal effort to generating renewable energy plus being antithetic towards encouraging its citizenary doing so in its planning processes– again a missed opportunity to invest in a sustainable future.

All this with like jurisdictions being more proactive albeit falling short of what's needed to make meaningful differences.

THE GOLD STANDARD

Most people know very little about gold as it doesn't figure highly in the earth's useful elements. It is rare and it is incredibly stable. So, once mined, infinitesimal amounts are lost and finds its way back into the 'environment'.

Consider these facts:

• The entire world production of gold is roughly 1.5 million kg per year, which would form a cube around 4.3 metres on each side; and

• Experts estimate that some 10 billion troy ounces of gold have been produced in the history of humanity, or just over 311 million kg. That would be a cube roughly 25 metres on each side; and

• The largest ship ever built (the Seawise Giant, which was decommissioned in 2010 and was listed as having a cargo capacity of 657 million kg) could hold twice the amount of gold that the human race has ever produced, throughout all of history; and

• Experts estimate that something in the order of 2% has ever been lost to the environment.

Manufacturers using gold typically factor in this 2% into their production costs and in goldsmithing workshops, they make assiduous efforts to ensure that infinitesimal amounts are lost and unrecoverable. Typically, each and every worker maintains a 'lemel stock' – lemel being metal filings AKA precious scrap.

Typically the outcome is that workers, through working processes, loose less than 2% of the gold that passes through their hands.

"In the business" anything more a 2% loss is regarded as gross inefficiency and ineptitude – and rightly so.

Mistakenly many people see to strategic purpose in gold mining is to make a profit when in reality it actually is to accumulate gold and build the metal's reserves. The profit making is an objective and only possible if there are reserves.Ironically the same understanding was once the case for diamonds and diamond mining's profitability depended upon securing the reserves and controlling the market. However, as the mining built the 'diamond reserve' the reserve became increasingly unsecureable with new mines coming on stream and technology delivering syntheic diamonds to a hungry market.

In an investment driven market as is currently the case in the so-called FREEworld the scarcity of a resource determines market values. This is currently the case with 'housing' but it is only so because there is an INVESTABLEstandard for the infrastructure that is being invoked and enforceable via legislation and regulations. In Australia that is:

• The two, perhaps three bedroom dwelling; and
• With a two car garage on a quarter acre block of land; and
• With a potential lifespan of four generations plus; and set in
• A grid structure cultural landscape.

That is still the 'standard' despite attempts to disrupt it, or replace it with another that is invoked and enforceable via legislation and regulations. More on this later!

Compare and contrast alL this with 'textile waste'! Globally, around 92 million tonnes of textiles are sent to LANDfill each year. In Australia, a significant portion of clothing waste ends up in landfills, with recent figures showing over 200,000 tonnes discarded annually, according to Seamless Australia. This represents a substantial environmental problem, as textile waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and land degradation.

This must be regarded as gross ineptitude and especially so when Launceston's Local Govt managed Waste Management Centre estimates that something in the order of 10% of the "waste stream" it handles is textile 'waste' and by-and-large it all goes to LANDfill. Somewhat poignantly what can be said of textiles can be said of glass, contaminated paper, soft plastics, ceramics, masonry, treated wood, solar panels, and a great deal of organic matter

Compared to the GOLDstandard where all but infinitesimal amounts of material resources are ONcycled, the MINDset shift needed to have such a standard seen as typical seems a long way off as functionaries in 'public service' dodge the issue in deference to the status quo and their risk adversity towards their incomes etc.

It is clear that the schism between the aspirations of governance's functionaries and the governed's expectations and desires is a yawning gap. More to the point it is an unaffordable gap between what is and what should be given the growing evidence that in every aspect of resource management humanity needs to lift its game. Alternatively, as David Susukie hasv said, "The future doesn't exist. The only thing that exists is now and our memory of what happened in the past. But because we invented the idea of a future, we're the only animal that realized we can affect the future by what we do today."

If humanity actually foresees a future not so much for what we might imagine as an immediate 'future' but something to be enjoyed by our grandchildren's grandchildren, then at a local level and in the here and now we all need to pay close attention to resource recovery and how it is implemented.

Indeed we need to pay close attention to the GOLDstandard, or move aside and make way for the insects to occupy the spaces humanity is despoiling.

SO WHAT IS AN ALTERNATIVE TO LANDFILL CELLS

The questions 'what next' and 'what instead' actually do have a viable and sustainable answer. Currently in Australia, like elsewhere in the so-called DEVELOPEDworld the economy has become misshapen via the imaginings of HOMEplaces as investments. That somewhat surreal concept brings about one-size-fit-all imaginings brought on by INVESTMENTthinking. Mostly the building of the infrastructure needs to LONGlived to justify the investment of resources and time to deliver a dividend at a future date or some imagined time ahead.

The time it takes to realize a dividend from an infrastructure investment can vary significantly, but it generally takes at least a number of years, potentially spanning multiple generations. Unlike a short-term investment, infrastructure projects often have long lifespans and generate returns over decades intended for the benefit of a number of generations.

While some infrastructure investments might start generating returns relatively quickly – say within a few years for the housing of people – others, particularly large-scale projects – say decades for the housing of enterprises/businesses – might require several decades to fully realise their investment potential. The concept of a "dividend" in this context might refer to financial returns. However, broader benefits like improved quality of life, economic development, and enhanced public services, which can have intergenerational impacts but not always by necessity.

The ill considered factor in the case of housing and HOMEmaking is that the housing investment factor typically demands a fiscal dividend, often within an unrealisable timeframe, which in turn sends investors on a fiscal merry-go-round with the demand for inputs ever increasing.

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As sure a GOD made little apples the merry-go-round was ultimately bound break and fail – and it has. Arguably , 'Macburbia'is a manifestation of the fiscal money chase – and it is an abomination.

Homelessness is a symptom of a strategic fiscal failure. In many ways it can be claimed to be deliberate in the way homelessness is tolerated in status quoism – albeit lamented. A society visibly fails when its entire population is not being sheltered and SUSTAINED in safety.

"In the international human rights context, the concept of a right to housing is found in the right to an ‘adequate standard of living’ as, for example, in article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)... Other international treaties to which Australia is a party also have something to say about a nation’s obligations in relation to housing – for example, concerning children, people with disabilities and women. First and foremost, the right to housing does not stand alone. Rather, it is ‘integrally linked to other human rights’." ... Prof Rosalind Croucher ... Sandy Duncanson Memorial Lecture 2022

Finland has effectively combatted homelessness through its "Housing First" approach, which prioritises providing permanent housing with support services to individuals experiencing homelessness. A key quote summarising Finland's approach is: "Homelessness isn't a lack of character, it's a lack of a house". Finland's success has attracted attention from other countries, with many seeking to learn from their experience and implement similar strategies.

The 'wastefulness of homelessness' runs parallel to the 'wastefulness of LANDfill'. They are both symptoms of strategic fiscal failure and the status quoism that together tolerate the malady and it brings it about. The people of Finland do not tolerate homelessness and together they have protected each other from its diabolical consequences.

Unsurprisingly, Finland has ambitious goals for resource recovery and circular economy, aiming to double the circular material use rate by 2035 compared to 2015. This includes limiting raw material consumption and increasing resource productivity.

Finland is also committed to reducing LANDfill in its municipalties thus improving recycling rates for plastics and construction waste. Finland has set targets to double its circular material use rate by 2035, meaning more resources will be reused, recycled, or recovered instead of going to waste and/or being imagined as waste.

The country aims to keep raw material consumption in 2035 at the same level as in 2015, excluding raw materials used in products for export. Likewise, Finland is working to double its resource productivity by 2035.

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Finland is a liberal democracy, characterised by free and fair elections, robust multiparty competition, and respect for fundamental freedoms. The country's political system is a parliamentary democracy with a republican constitution, where executive power is primarily held by the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister. Finland consistently demonstrates strong performance in liberal, egalitarian, and deliberative aspects of democracy, with citizens enjoying universal suffrage and strong protections for individual and political freedoms.

Housing First in Tasmania is supposedly a key strategic plan in the state's plan to end homelessness. The 'plan' claims to focus on providing immediate, unconditional housing to individuals experiencing homelessness, along with tailored support services to address their specific needs and help them maintain stable housing. The Tasmanian government's Action Plan 2023-27 outlines the implementation of a Housing First model as part of its broader vision to achieve "functional zero" homelessness.

It is matter of consciousness, bif your conscious of something you can see it and you can recognise it for what it is – like recognising liars, cheats and fakes for what they are.

Policy makers seem to put thier best foot forward in the public arena, however if you have been burned a few times, or you are a trickster yourself, you can see behind the masks or facades that are used to profess good intentention.

Out and about in our cultural realities, and society generally, if racism and bigotry is taught it is unsurprising to see racism and bigotry wherever and when ever it shows its ugly face.

It is said that ignorance is bliss and its said for a reason. Disillusionment is a bi-product of enlightenment. Change the thinking and the world changes. The truth always comes out in the end, no matter how hard anyone tries to hide it or stop it.

A lie is but a temporary delay to the inevitable. So, if you've learned dysfunction in the cradle you will see it in the world.

IF SO HOW SO?

Anthropology is the science of human beings and especially the study of humanity and its ancestoral precedence through time and space. Scholarship in anthropology relates to the physical character, the environmental and the social relationships vto be found in CULTURALlandscapes. It also deals with the origin, nature, and destiny of human beings and in an ideal world anthropology informs the thinking that goes on in civic planning processes.

The unawareness of 'anthropology' and its dimension in civic planning diminishes strategic planning processes. The lack of it is detrimental to the placemaking and the consequence being a lack of acknowledgement that ensures that cultural realities can find their full expression. The blending and blanding that goes on is diminishing.

CULTURALlandscapes are given their dimension by the people who belong to them and in them. Cultures makes places and places shape cultures. When the traits of a place are imagined as some all encompassing common denominator in planning, opportunities for change are at best constrained or compromised, and at worst, lost. In a culturally diverse 'place', one where different and divergent cultures have been brought together by whatever means, there is a need to afford the diversity that is present. Given the opportunity new realities will evolve as those sharing places shape and reconstruct the geography according to need and aspiration.

RESOURCES AND PLACES

It is the geographies that affords safety and sustains