paper, paper everywhere

paper, paper everywhere, originally uploaded by julienpaul.

I went from a sustainable architecture firm in Sydney where we recycled and carbon offsetted everything to my current firm in paris, where the TONNES of paper we throw out every week goes straight into general waste.

I was shocked when I first arrived and the simple answer to my question "why don't we recycle" was "apparently you need to PAY for them to pick up your recycling if you are a company!" (tone of shocked outrage).

And we aren't the only ones. It is quite common for even very large establishments, such as my aunts university, to not recycle. Actually, for a country that is supposedly meeting environmental requirements on a national scale, you don't at all feel the "carbon offsetting, solar powered, recycle everything" movement that has hit Australia. No, most initiatives seem to come from the government: excellent infrastructure for bikes, public transport, urban central heating systems. Leaves the individual to lazily go on guzzling up resources happily....