By Tracy Grisman

Special to the Leader

I’ve been trying to stay positive about life these days. As things seem to be falling apart at the seams, I turn my attention toward the concepts of repair, restore, reuse, reduce, recycle, rethink, repurpose — all the Rs.  My mind enters an era called the Repairocene: A time when common goals of healing, repairing, and restoring of our lands, our things, and our relationships are shared. I feel hopeful again and realize that those Rs continue to be some of the more pressing actions of our time.

What if we woke up one day and some things were cut in half: the amount of time spent working outside the home, how much stuff we made, how much stuff we bought. Would we feel satisfied? Are we satisfied now?

As a society, how do we bow out and scale back on the continuous cycle of production and consumption without threatening someone’s food bowl, where the aftermath of this cycle, once known as “progress,” could be the demise of our species?

It’s a phenomenon of epic proportions, just in our country of more than 330 million people, that the average American tosses out seven pounds of discards daily. Hopefully, two pounds of that will be recycled. Humans are the only species that leave mountains of waste that do not in some way nurture the planet again. We can even view the giant inactive Fresh Kills Landfill, located on Staten Island, New York, from outer space.

In 2022 in Jefferson County, about 11 skilled men  and women sporting fluorescent safety vests, hard hats, two-way radios and steel-toed boots choreographed 23,000 tons of waste through a process beginning at the curbside, to a final resting place at Roosevelt Regional Landfill, 313 miles southeast of our region.

As we plan for a much-needed, safer and well-designed transfer station in Jefferson County, whether it be a new build or a redesign of what exists, are we of the collective mindset to turn the meaning of “progress” and “ambition” on its head, and make a conscious effort to prioritize the Rs? During the last 30 years, have we learned that bigger and more does not equal better?

How do we, as a species with compassion, change our behaviors to a more sustainable lifestyle? If it was the age of the Repairocene, we would look to our communities to see what needs fixing.

Our Rs at work: Check out the Jefferson County Solid Waste website, bring your broken item to the next repair event, take a composting workshop, help pick up litter with JeffCo Trash Task Force, or offer reuseable items to a neighbor. Volunteer or bring clean Styrofoam to the Styrocycler events, make art or support the Artist in Residence and Educational Program at the Transfer Station, attend a Local 20/20 Beyond Waste meeting, volunteer with the Gleaners, or work in a community garden.

For links to these and other resources, visit Local2020.org/waste-column.

Tracy Grisman serves on the Solid Waste Advisory Committee and the Local 20/20 Council. She is an active member of Local 20/20’s Beyond Waste group and leads the Artist in Residence and Educational Program at the Transfer Station.