The Sharing Economy: A Powerful New Tool in the Quest for Zero Waste. By David Van Seters, President Sustainability Ventures

Transcription

1 The Sharing Economy: A Powerful New Tool in the Quest for Zero Waste By David Van Seters, President Sustainability Ventures

2 Some sad stats on stuff 60% The increase in the size of an average home in North America since % The % of garages that cannot fit a car because of all the stuff $24B The annual revenues of the US self storage industry

3 We are constantly enticed to spend money we don t have on things we don t need to create impressions that don t last on people we don t care about. Tim Jackson, Author, Prosperity without Growth

4 The stuff we buy but don t use is just as much waste as throwing it away. Trash and storage are just two different endgames of the same problem.

5 We are shifting from Landfills to Building fills

6 Per Capita Waste Trends Waste generation: up 75% 1960 to 2000, down 7% last decade Waste diversion: up from 6% to 34% Waste disposal: up 50% 1960 to 1990, down 24% last 20 years Kilograms per person /year Recovery Disposal Sustainability Ventures April 2014

7 Per Capita Waste Including Storage Waste generation is still on the rise Almost all of our waste diversion has been offset by new storage 1000 Kilograms per person /year Storage Recovery Disposal Sustainability Ventures April 2014

8 We need to shift from diverting waste to reducing the amount of waste we generate. This is where the Sharing Economy comes in

9 What is the sharing economy? Traditional activities like sharing, bartering, lending, swapping, renting, and trading of idle wasted assets combined with new web technologies to create collaborative communities Old examples: libraries pot lucks Newer examples: Craigslist Ebay The newest ones focus on access vs ownership and sharing with strangers, not just friends

10 1. Sell/donate/swap unwanted items Sell your stuff Donate your stuff Swap your stuff

11 2. Share your household items Buy, sell, rent, trade, give

12 3. Facilitate Waste Sharing Reuse centres Reuse centres at waste facilities Reuse dropoff kiosks

13 4. Rent your household items Rent/share household items New Online Tools for sharing

14 5. Repurpose Products Unlimited Supplies from Everyone s Discards Reestore

15 6. Repair items

16 Other sharing sectors that reduce waste House sharing (e.g. Airbnb) reduces hotels Office sharing (e.g. Space Station) reduce offices Car sharing (e.g. Victoria Carshare) reduces cars Food sharing e(.g PareUp) reduces food waste

17 Waste can be saved in every sector

18 The sharing economy creates value well beyond just waste Economic Environmental Social Increases incomes Reduces costs Conserves resources Reduces wastes Builds community Increases work flexibility

19 It also creates new values Sharing Economy = Reuse Economy Which leads us to: A Zero Waste Economy

20 The sharing economy must overcome one very large barrier to flourish Sustainability Ventures April 2014

21 The sharing economy must overcome one very large barrier to flourish GOVERNMENT! Sustainability Ventures April 2014

22 The sharing economy must overcome one very large barrier to flourish GOVERNMENT! Government has well established rules to govern: Individuals C Sustainability Ventures April 2014

23 The sharing economy must overcome one very large barrier to flourish GOVERNMENT! Government has well established rules to govern: Individuals Businesses C C Sustainability Ventures April 2014

24 The sharing economy must overcome one very large barrier to flourish GOVERNMENT! Government has well established rules to govern: Individuals Businesses Individuals as businesses C C?? Sustainability Ventures April 2014

25 The sharing economy must overcome one very large barrier to flourish GOVERNMENT! Government has well established rules to govern: Individuals Businesses Individuals as businesses C C?? #&%$#! Sustainability Ventures April 2014

26 You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. Buckminster Fuller Sustainability Ventures April 2014

27 Please SHARE your thoughts with me at: David Van Seters, President, Sustainability Ventures