Most shops are just landfill waiting to happen.

[SummerDaytoNight]

I mean, all are to a point, but I’m talking about the non essential ones.

Our society is engineering its own collapse. We only need food, health, house basics and clothing. And I suppose, technology.

Fast fashion could go. Housing should just be the essentials.

My friend took me into a shop called sostrene grene. It was lovely, but nothing was essential. Most shops are like that.

The horse has bolted, but I wish we could limit the unnecessarily stuff and just have the basics. Im not talking Amish level, but there’s no need for all this waste. It would be so much better if only the essentials were produced.

At the point of production, it’s already basically landfill.

Watched a documentary on Chinese dark factories - utterly depressing. Basically they justify them by saying they lack labour - pah. They’re fully AI automated factories with no human workers so no need to even put the lights on. Producing cheap plastic clothes and crap 24 hours a day. Obviously environmentally damaging. Fashion and a desire for the latest technology/ toys etc is killling us all!

I'd never heard of dark factories before thanks for highlighting.
That truly is the stuff of nightmares.

I had to drive behind a retail park at the weekend and the amount of packaging awaiting disposal was sickening. It was piles and piles of cardboard and plastic that had absolutely no use any more. This is in addition to the packing still on the items in stock, not to mention the items themselves including many which go unsold and will ultimately end up in a landfill.

Oh god that is utterly depressing.

At my last job, when I put out seasonal stuff- most of it was the crap we talking about, made in China.

They have to use the thickest cardboard and a mile of sellotape (which has to be the strongest). Even for something ridiculously light - Halloween cookie cutters! Then some items had bits of cardboard in between each item.

We bailed the cardboard which was recycled into making more cardboard.

Garden centres really get to me - who buys all that needless crap? Tons and tons of it! They go on and on about the ‘cost of living crisis’ and I won’t really believe it until the coffee shops are empty (£4 for a cup of coffee!) and the garden centres aren’t full of what you rightly describe as landfill.

I used to work in the shop at our local recycling centre. There was masses of really good stuff, all going very, very, cheap. There is no reason why people who don't have much money can't buy from places like that. I have very little new furniture in my flat, I bought second hand, good quality, stuff and have no intention of replacing it - and it won't need replacing in my lifetime.

There is also plenty of good stuff on FB marketplace, and we have a local FB page where people give goods away.

That is extreme. Would people take higher prices to avoid relying on these?

Well I was thinking more along the lines of clothes I suppose. I think social media drives/encourages SOME people to buy stuff more because they are posing/ showing off.

The cardboard was once trees - don’t know where they get it all from

Judging by the majority of positive responses on this thread, we aren’t doomed, thankfully. 😅

@MistressoftheDarkSide I know where you’re coming from with the collecting of peoples things that are no longer here. I have only ended up with a few practical things of my Dads but my Grandmother passed away earlier this year and I was struggling to let go of some of her things. I think it’s because it’s from a generation that’s dying out - there’s letters/telegrams my grandad sent to her during the war. I have managed to let go of a chunk of things and keep telling myself they aren’t my memories to hold on to.
I’m sorry for your loss of DP

it sort of sounds more like something people think happens more than something that really does

Sounds interesting - can you remember what the documentary was called or which channel it was on? Thanks 🙏🏼

In some respects I don’t have a problem with a fully automated factory. The quality and usefulness of what factories produce is key. If you’ve ever worked in a factory, they can be noisy, dangerous workplaces, and some of the tasks can be mind numbingly repetitive. Humans are better and more safely deployed in creative and caring roles.

If the population are to move away from buying cheap tat and buy fewer, quality items that will last, how we transition as a society is important, as this kind of economy will be different. More of us will be employed in repair services, for example.

Try going on eBay. 1 million dresses for sale (UK). 250,000 of these dresses are polyester. What is going to happen to all these dresses?

Yes it sounds full on but could actually work. I would suggest if we do go down that path it’s better to have the capability to produce better items and not rely on China etc for the cheapest stuff.

Given the whole tariff furore I’m not sure people do want this when it comes down to pricing.

Maybe the US can do it in a way smaller countries would find more difficult.

Can polyester be recycled?
Surely the material could be made into a different item of clothing.

Let's hope

Most things "can" be recycled, but there are financial costs and environmental damage in the transportation, energy/resources required, etc. Recycling takes a lot of energy and water, and there's a lot of diesel used ferrying the stuff around. Huge amounts that "could" be recycled are still dumped into landfill because of the costs and resources needed make it unviable to recycle.

Far better to use less in the first place rather than virtue signalling by recycling.

Reduce and re-use first, then recycle less.

We are because despite many people not buying, businesses are still producing. That’s what’s so scary.

Yes some plastics can be recycled, but in order to make recycled plastic, you need new/virgin plastic to begin with, and we need to stop making new plastic. Making coke bottles into M&S jumpers is basically greenwashing.

China will find a new market if the US declines their goods or buys less. We will need to not be flooded with them for a start.

It’s awful isn’t it and it’s grown hugely with the advent of social media. As is the truly wasteful fad of redecorating every 2 years, even new kitchens and bathrooms after only a few years. Again, this is probably due to marketing and influencers on social media as we now see inside people’s homes more and people want to post about their new whatever.

If I buy anything new it has to be useful and will last a lot of years.

I walk around my village regularly and on bin collection day I see houses with non recyclable bins overflowing. Not sure why as we have 3 other bins for specific things. We have barely 2 bags of rubbish over 2 weeks.

That is really good idea about a shop at a recycling centre.
I might email our council to ask where all the stuff goes.