Bigger Dreams
A couple weeks ago, on "Reopening Weekend," one of our long-time customers looked around at our giant new double room and said, "This is your dream, isn't it?" And in so many ways, it is! We've been dreaming of more space since before we had any space. As soon as we were settled in one classroom, we felt cramped and ready to move into two. The expansion means offering more services, hosting more events, giving people a better place to gather, and building a more sustainable community.
But on the other hand: this isn't really our dream. Our real dream is that Full Circle won't need to exist.
- Our dream is that grocery stores will start carrying local produce whenever possible. That the center aisles will consist of bulk bins instead of rows and rows of products in plastic.
- Our dream is that manufacturers will start taking back their packaging for reuse—or at least ensuring that all of it can be easily recycled in any community in the country.
- Our dream is that companies will start selling products that are meant to last and are easy to repair. That they will assume responsibility for the end life of their products by providing take-back programs—repurposing usable components and recycling broken ones.
- Our dream is of cities and counties that provide composting as a public service just as they do trash collection and recycling. That they will provide ways for all residents to easily and affordably recycle and compost, no matter what type of dwelling they live in.
- Our dream is of a government that offers at least as much support for small farmers as large ones and supports, through policies and incentives, responsible farming practices that are considerate of our collective resouces—that do not pollute our air, contaminate our water, or destroy our topsoil.
Our mission is to make low-waste living easier. Our dream is that one day, it won't need to be easier. You won't have to think about it. Low-waste living will simply be...living.
So yes, this double room and the growth it represents are our dream, but only temporarily. It is the space we inhabit until the day when our real dreams come true.
Ad astra per aspera!
-Justine
1 comment
Couldn’t agree more. How beautiful this country would be if the ramifications and byproducts of manufacturing, production, and transportation were felt most by those parts of the supply chain, and not only by the consumers.
Low-prices should not be prioritized over the health, well-being, and the future use of our land, air, and water.
Eventually soil won’t be able to be salvaged, eventually water will run out or be too contaminated for humans or other plants/animals in the life cycle, and eventually, our air and atmosphere will be too polluted to stop runaway global warming or be safe to breathe for us, animals, or plants.
Those profits today will not be worth the cost of saving our destroyed planet later. That math will never add up.
-Jonathan (J.D.) Smith