Reasons why recycling is not as vital as you first thought

• Mar. 1 by Rebekah Douglas (6)

In recent times we are encouraged to recycle a lot more than we were ten years ago. It seems that we recycle because we assume it’s the most environmentally friendly option that we have to dispose of waste. It might seem important to get involved with the process and reduce waste, but there are a few downsides that could be considered if you’re feeling a tad pressured by the whole thing. Here are a few studies and opinions that may take the guilt off if you’re not 100% committed to your recycling duties everyday…

A source titled ’5 ways that people are trying to save the world (that don’t work)’, tells us, “As for saving resources by recycling, this is where it gets tricky. Partly this is because whether or not recycling saves resources depends on whether you consider human labor to be a resource (that is, the effort to pick up, sort and transfer the items to be recycled). Recycling requires more trucks, more crews and more people to oversee the entire process.”

An example that the article provides tells us,

“A chemist at the University of Victoria calculated that you would need to use a ceramic mug 1,000 times before you would see benefits over using disposable polystyrene cups for those 1,000 cups of coffee. This is because it takes far more energy to make that mug and takes energy and water to wash it after each use.”

Opinions on http://www.richardtom.com/downsideofrecycling/ also suggest,

“Recycling is only postponing a material’s inevitable fate in a grave of some kind, usually a landfill or incinerator.” A statement adapted from, McDonough & Braungart Cradle to Cradle.

Volokh & Scarlett also tell us, “Recycling isn’t the opposite of waste. Sometimes recycling saves resources; sometimes it doesn’t. Encouraging recycling across the board may reduce or increase energy use, water use, air and water pollution, and landfill usage depending on the manufacturer and product,” from ‘Is recycling good or bad or both?’

Generally recycling isn’t amazing by any means, but it’s better than simply disposing of the large amounts of trash that we use up everyday. In a perfect world the best solution would be to dispose of less waste. Companies and a selection of supermarkets are introducing ways of making this possible, including Cadburys who have reduced the packaging by 25% on their Easter eggs.

Cutting down on how much packaging we dispose of isn’t easy. It might be worth trying to recycle and reduce waste disposal. This can be done by putting your packaging to better use, or by buying less packaged products. That way you’ll be doing your bit for the environment without  being under pressure to recycle everything you possibly can!

An article from BBC News shows that in a time of economic crisis, the Swedish have got it right in encouraging this task,

“The Swiss do not recycle just because they care about the environment. There is a strong financial incentive. Recycling is free, but in most parts of Switzerland throwing away rubbish costs money – each rubbish bag has to have a sticker on it, and each sticker costs at least one euro.”