COMMENT: To be greener, we should recycle less

Published by Marie Daffe on January 24, 2017January 24, 2017

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January 24th, 2017

[/cs_text][cs_text class=”cs-ta-justify”]We often think that recycling is the ultimate solution to the waste issue. And we are encouraged to think this way by companies that proudly announce that their products will be soon entirely recyclable or compostable. Well, actually, recycling is not the response. In fact, it can sometimes be more harmful than beneficial for the environment.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” class=”cs-ta-justify” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]Despite all those companies that commit to zero-waste to landfill we are not going into the right direction. As Andrew Handley explains on Listverse: “People talk about recycling like it’s some sort of superhero (…) But sometimes the theory is better than the practice” Handley details afterwards all the ways recycling can hurt the environment.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” class=”cs-ta-justify” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]It makes perfect sense when you think about it. We praise recycling as a great thing but we never think, voluntarily or not, about all the resources it takes to recycle all our items. Trucks that collect bins run on fuel, recycling plants need a lot of water and electricity to operate, and the latter is not always green.

Some countries, including Ireland, thus decided to apply “all-in-one recycling” precisely to reduce the number of trucks on the roads. Basically, all recyclables go in the same bin and the sorting is done at the recycling plant. Not only does it costs money in infrastructure and manpower, but it also greatly increases the chances of contamination. If food waste mixes with cardboard, it won’t be recyclable anymore. And in some cases poor recycling practice can endanger human health if products containing toxic chemicals are accidentally recycled and the toxic substance can now come into contact with people. [/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”rounded” src=”https://greennews.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Waste_Macwagen.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” class=”cs-ta-justify” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]More worrying, the belief in recycling would lead us to be even more wasteful. That’s what Elaine Butler from Living lightly in Ireland reports on its website, based of a study from Boston University. For example, we could wrongly think that it’s not a big deal to consume a lot of drinks in plastic bottles since they are recyclable. Yes, technically, they are. But in reality, recycling is often too expensive and not efficient enough. Not to mention that a big part of plastics are actually not recycled at all because their composition is too complex. And assuming that it is recycled, it will be only once. In short, plastic bottles won’t become new plastic bottles, because it’s not possible to have the same quality of plastic again (only glass is indefinitely recyclable). They are therefore going to be “downcycled”, which means that they’ll end up as polyester sweater for example and this one won’t be recyclable. So eventually the so-called recyclable bottles will still result in waste.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” class=”cs-ta-justify” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]Soon there could be nine billion people on planet earth so we should all pay attention to our waste. Here is a map created by Radio Canada that shows the amount of trash produced per country, per person and per day. Ireland is among the worst with 3,58 kilograms per person and per day, or one kilo more than the USA![/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_map no_container=”false”][/x_map][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text class=”cs-ta-justify”]If you accept the point that recycling is not the solution then the only one we have is to drastically reduce our waste. This is what Bea Johnson, the “priestess of waste-free living” according to The New York Times, advocates for. This French-born American is considered as the pioneer, some say the guru, of the Zero Waste movement since publishing her best-seller Zero Waste Home in 2013. She and her family of four now only produce one liter of waste per year! She explains in the video below why we should all reduce our waste and what benefits can be gained by doing that.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_video_embed no_container=”false” type=”16:9″][/x_video_embed][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text class=”cs-ta-justify”]Of course, not everybody can go so far into the waste reduction. But we can all make small efforts and then go gradually. If you want to know more about the Zero Waste movement, you can read our previous stories about Zero Waste stores, Why and how to shop waste-free & Where to shop waste-free in Dublin.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]Featured image: bins in Berlin. Credit: Tolga Soran – Flickr[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_author title=”About the Author” author_id=””][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]