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Ethical Consumption, Talk about the good work of consumers who make choices based on the sustainability of supply chains, along with the companies that respond to these ethical demands. | 25844 Followers  |
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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Ruchira Shah | Wednesday 11th March 2009
 The other day, a friend of mine noted that there wasn't a recycling bin in the common room for my department and expressed her surprise that I hadn't launched a crusade to get one.I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. "You pick your battles," I said. The truth is, I'm a little over recycling. I know, I know. I'm an environmentalist. How can I be over recycling? Don't fear, I still recycle my cans and bottles and paper. But I no longer care so much to crusade about to make sure that its easy for everyone to recycle. Why? Because every single recycle bin on my campus is contaminated on a regular basis with trash. Because I see people throw their aluminum cans in the rubbish when the recycle bin is just NEXT to the rubbish bin. Because I know the people who go to my university are smart, well-educated people, and yet they cannot figure out how to properly recycle their recyclables. But it's not just getting people to recycle that causes a problem. There's also the problem of what one does with the recyclables. Because for most recyclables other than aluminum, there isn't much of a market for recycled goods. So a lot of your recyclables end up in storage, or in the landfill, or on a boat to China. Recycling is good and we should do it, but make no mistake, recycling is not the answer. First we need to reduce our need for disposable goods. Then we need to reuse disposable goods, and then, as a last resort, recycle. Now you might wonder how to reduce your need for disposable goods. Never fear, in the next few weeks, I'll be posting a series to help you. If there are specific things you would like me to address, let me know! |
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Dallas Fairbanks 14 March 2009 Thank you--it's true that one of the best ways to help the earth is to simply reduce consumption! Yet people don't always seem to think of it--for example, many friends over the years have expressed surprise at my insistence on bringing my own bag to the store. The common comment is, "but you can recycle the store bag". To this I reply, "Yes, but it takes energy to recycle it." Better to just not take the bag in the first place! It's often difficult to not buy disposable goods (with excess packaging), as they're so integrated in our society, but it's certainly worth the effort to do so at every opportunity! As you point out, there's also limited demand for recycled products. I heard recently on NPR that the drop in U.S. spending has also reduced China's demand for recycled materials from the U.S., since they're now generating less products (and accompanying packaging) to sell.
Side note--why IS it that people throw trash into the recycling bins, or recycling into the trash bins?? I know it's true, as you described. I find this especially baffling among students, who are in a dynamic learning environment--hence potentially more likely to be adaptable and well-educated. Does anyone have any possible explanation for this phenomenon? |
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