The belief that resources can be ultimately wasted, or disposed of, makes a recycling society
impossible. Today, there is a massive flow of nutrients, in the form of food, from rural areas to
cities, and these nutrients, in the form of excreta, are disposed of into deep pits or lakes, rivers
and coastal waters. This has several major consequences, one of which being nutrients and
organic matter in excreta are toxic to different life forms living in water (e.g., some fish and coral
reefs). Fish can become contaminated and infect people. Fish stocks, a major source of protein
and livelihood for people, are in decline in part from sewage pollution. Biodiversity, the different
forms of life that supply all our needs, is also reduced, threatening human well-being. In
addition, the linear flow of nutrients from rural areas to urban waste sinks results in soil infertility,
necessitating the addition of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
The urbanisation of rural counties and regions results in the paving over of farmland. Water
runoff and storm sewers do not allow ground water to recharge, and fresh water has to be
extracted at great cost from farther and farther away. Food also has to be produced farther and
farther away from where people live, often on less fertile land. The cost of piping water and