Member-only story
Is Software Eating the World?
We need to ask whether our technological progress is antagonistic to the place that we call home
It was recently revealed that Coca-Cola produces three million tonnes of plastic packaging a year, which is equivalent to 200,000 bottles a minute according to the Guardian. This revelation was part of a global commitment led by the New Plastics Economy to raise awareness of the sheer scale of single-use waste we are creating.
After decades of relentless production of materials that end up in landfills, humans are beginning to take notice of our waste problem. This spans from large corporations to individuals in their homes. In 2017, the recycling rate for U.K. households was 45.7 percent. There is an EU target for the U.K. to recycle at least 50 percent of household waste by 2020. When I was a child, there was no recycling collection at all.
We’re seeing the connection between the physical products that we create and their detrimental effect on the environment.
Increasing numbers of consumers are applying environmental and ethical scrutiny to all physical products they buy. Doing good for the planet is not only expected of a brand; it can be a major selling point. Patagonia…
