Recycling Thoughts

The story of the growth of Pure Lakes has been one I’ve been bound up in

since Claire and Gareth took on the business. I’ve been involved in some design

discussions, but generally only encouraged the venture from the sidelines...so I

was very surprised when Gareth asked me to write a piece on recycling, as it

was “so much my thing”.

I think my son-in-law was referring to my habit of keeping things for ages

and, with luck, producing them at a useful time – so recycling in the sense of

using again. A recent example of that was the re-housing of my husband’s

grandmother’s sturdy formica topped 1950’s table, which now holds centre

stage in Claire and Gareth’s kitchen.

Both my family and my husband’s kept furniture, household items, clothes,

toys and games and together we have held on to as many as possible.

I have worn some of my mother’s dresses, coats and jackets – Claire has

occasionally worn one or two, and also some of mine: trends come round again.

I think we have moved into a world of too fast fashion, and a notion that articles

should be thrown away quite quickly; unfortunately the production of many

clothes today relies on the use of harsh chemicals, and can cause air and

water pollution and result in textile waste.

When I was young a lot of goods were bought in the belief they would last a

lifetime, and if necessary there was the possibility of getting them mended. Of

course nowadays, that applies less due to the fast moving advances in

technology - but in general, if people kept things a bit longer, and valued well-

crafted items, there would be a decrease in manufacture which, in turn, would

lead to less depletion of resources and reduce pollution.

When I was a child I can remember going to the grocers with my parents on

Saturday mornings and taking back empty bottles, buying supplies and putting

them in a couple of string bags – it’s amazing to see how the bag for life has

made a comeback after the years of the single-use plastic bag reigning supreme.

And the plastic water bottle has gone from miracle container to today’s bad guy.

Ways of re-using bottles of all kinds are uppermost in people’s minds, as well as

trying to work out the best way of collecting and dealing with empty plastic

bottles – that is all very encouraging, especially when you look at images of

plastic filled seas. I believe in the stance Pure Lakes is taking on recycling, with

their biopolymer bottles, their reusable and refillable policy and their use of

organic products: the team are aware of the company’s impact on the

environment, and is committed to keeping in the forefront of innovation.

I think the career my husband and I chose all those years ago, becoming

secondhand booksellers, has suited our natures – that recycling of pre-loved

items is very satisfying. When sending out our books, we use a great number of

pre-used padded envelopes and recycled packaging, in the same way that Pure

Lakes does...though our job of parcelling books is probably easier!

We very much embrace today’s recycling efforts, and I realise that our own “home

product recycling” that Gareth appreciates, is perhaps a niche area which relies

on a certain amount of storage space to succeed – but if it helps the

environment, even in a small way, it’s surely a good thing.

To read about our new refill policy click here.