Hello community!
All of us from the Mount Pleasant Green Initiatives Committee hope you have been enjoying some sun, relaxation, and time with loved ones so far this summer.
This month, the GIC wants to talk a little bit about sharing economy and why it is so important to a sustainable lifestyle and how we can promote this in our community.
Let’s go back to when we were all young and just learning the ropes of life. Do you recall being taught the importance of learning to share? Well, just like many of the things we learned when we were young, sharing has just an important part to play in our day to day lives if we want to try to live as “green” as possible.
Sharing (or a more technical term of circular) economy involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing products for as long as possible so that the life cycle of the product is extended. Most of us are probably already familiar with this model as we have many online platforms, such as Facebook Marketplace, that promote the sale of gently used goods amongst a community. Going one step further from the sale of goods, there are other options in place such as an app called RentBridge that promotes the renting of equipment, tools, electronics, and other larger items people may only wish to use one or a few times.
By promoting and investing in a sharing economy lifestyle, we support sustainability. The ability to increase the life cycle of goods by sharing it across the community has positive environmental impacts as it reduces resources required to produce consumer goods and helps to reduce carbon footprints. It is also a great way to stay connected with our neighbours and community!
So, on that note, be sure to check out our new Buy/ Sell/ Trade Facebook Group found under the main Mount Pleasant Facebook page. It is here that we hope to start a movement in our community where we can re-use items amongst ourselves that we no longer want instead of buying new. It is also here that we hope to start a trading/ sharing/ borrowing platform among neighbours who may only need a larger item here and there at a time.
Transportation is another aspect of the sharing economy that the GIC is looking at pursuing. We already see this within the city with the return of the e scooters! However, wouldn’t it be great to have a community cargo bike just for us to use? Stay tuned! We may also be able to provide some cargo trailers that attach to your own bike, so that you can have more fun, and get more done, on two wheels.
If you want to get involved and be a part of making Mount Pleasant a greener community, we would love to have you join the committee. Please email [email protected] for more information or if you have any questions. As well, please check out our Mount Pleasant Green Initiative Group on Facebook! You can find us on the Mount Pleasant Community Association page.
Happy sharing,
The MPCA Green Initiatives Committee
