Is Recycling a Waste of Time? Should we Stop Recycling?
I get comments like this all the time:
“we should stop recycling”
“recycling is a waste of time”
“why bother with recycling?”
So, let’s address this: should we stop recycling?
Recycling is imperfect. We all know by now that recycling is far from perfect, especially in the US. But why?
Well, recycling is a business!
It’s more affordable for brands to get new aluminum, new glass, and new plastic as opposed to opting for recycled materials. So, the fewer brands that are using recycled materials, the smaller the demand is for recycling them in the first place. Why would a recycling company want to put in all that time, money, and effort to recycle our plastic and paper just for companies to say they don’t want it? Recycling companies need a place to send the recycled materials but the demand for recycled materials is low.
This is why it’s important to not only recycle correctly but to also support the entire recycling industry by buying recycled materials when possible. This shows companies that there is a demand to keep recycling and to recycle MORE. When opting for a notebook or toilet paper, choose recycled. When looking for a new soda brand to support, find one that uses recycled metal.
This makes plastic not very effective for recycling as we will get into but other materials like glass, metal, and tech are highly valuable to recycle. So if you want to quit recycling plastic I can understand that, but don’t stop recycling valuable materials!
We also need to talk about subsidies
According to Oxford Dictionary, it is “a sum of money granted by the government or a public body to assist an industry or business so that the price of a commodity or service may remain low or competitive.”
Do you see where this is going?
Our new materials are subsidized, especially plastic. Why? Perhaps you don’t know where plastic comes from…it is made of oil. You guessed it, big oil is behind plastic production.
This is ultimately why plastic recycling rates are SO low. Well, a big reason. There are more reasons we will touch on.
Basically, the government is artificially keeping the cost of new plastic so low that companies have no choice but to opt for new vs recycled plastic. Think about it, you probably see recycled metal or paper often! I sure do! But recycled plastic? It’s harder to come across.
The government is doing this because plastic is a by-product of the oil industry so big oil profits from record plastic sales. And you know the government loves oil!
But, there’s another thing…
Image from Squarespace
We’re recycling WRONG!
Our recycling rates are so low mostly in fault of these subsidies and the overall process of recycling being a business. And in a capitalist society, the most important thing is money, not the planet or the people.
BUT
We are also recycling incorrectly most of the time. I used to focus heavily on recycling education when I first started my social media. I did this in part because I was a wishcycler, I was recycling wrong for many many years and knew that if I was just learning about it now, surely other folks don’t learn about it either.
If you have rules on your bin, you have to follow them EXACTLY. If you don’t have rules on your bin, you still have to follow them exactly but you may have to do extra work to find said rules.
Usually, these rules are: clean, dry, and they accept plastics #1-2, metal cans, glass, paper, and cardboard. But, as always, everywhere if different so double check! We used to not be able to recycle glass in Spokane and here in N Minnesota we can’t recycle paper (weird, I know). Some regions may also take extra materials like styrofoam or tetrapak.
Notice that that list is small. When you place items that can’t be recycled in your recycling bin, you’re rendering your entire bin non-recyclable. Sure, some municipalities sort their items by hand, but most of it is done by machine and most machines don’t have the capabilities to sort every single material on the planet, only certain materials.
This brings us to our next point…
The recycling symbol isn’t a recycling symbol
The little symbol you often see on plastics with a number in the middle? That’s NOT a recycling symbol. It’s a resin identification code. This is what the machines use to sort our materials and how they will be recycled. Like materials can only be recycled with like materials which is why only a few types of plastics are accepted. You can learn more about the types of plastics in this video and why they cannot all be recycled together.
But also…
The recycling symbol is greenwashing!
Plenty of businesses and products slap a recycling symbol on their products willy-nilly. They do this without properly educating the customer on HOW to recycle their items. Because again, not everything is actually recycled. Is it recyclABLE? Technically yes, everything has the POTENTIAL to be recycled. But not everything is recyclED.
So, when brands throw the symbol on their packaging, we often as consumers think it’s a-ok to put it in our bins without checking the rules. Afterall the brands are the experts, we should trust them! But, many of them don’t actually care.
Many brands also state arbitrary claims like “fully recyclable” or “recycle bottle and cap together.” These may be true in some parts of the world, but not every single part of the world.
Once again, we’re recycling wrong. Partially our own fault, partially the fault of brands.
You’re probably sick of it by now, but check your own local rules for clarification.
So, is recycling a waste of time?
No! Recycling is extremely important and we must continue to recycle CORRECTLY! Yes, it would be nice if companies and governments cared more about recycling (we are seeing more and more progress every year) but it also starts with us. It sucks that the responsibility is on us, but for now, that’s the way it is.
That means we have to take action and start recycling correctly. If we all recycle perfectly will it fix the whole system? No, but it will make a change in the system.
We can also write to our governments about recycling mandates. We can write to our recycling companies and demand better education and recycling access. We can take a few minutes out of our day to wash our recycling and double-check our rules (lazy hack, most recyclable material can be cleaned in the dishwasher!).
Our small actions matter. They want us to feel discouraged and stop trying because it keeps their pockets lined. Keep working, though. We must all continuously work together toward a fully circular system for the planet and our own health.
Still confused on how to recycle correctly? Check out these other videos!
Things you CANNOT recycle pt 1
Our landfills are running out of space
Which material is the best? Let's talk all things single-use packaging
Thank you so much for reading along. I appreciate your time and I hope this leaves you inspired. We can make a change. Truly if we all take 5 minutes to learn about our recycling rules and recycling correctly, it WILL change the whole system. Use this mindset in all of your eco-activism.
As always, remember that your small actions truly make a difference in the long run :)
Emma
