The Green Ostrich

When I was a kid, we were taught to “reduce, reuse, recycle.” As I recall, we sang about it in school and made posters with pictures of the recycling arrows and smiling recycling bins. In fact, recycling was the only “R” that ever got any real attention. This is a huge problem. We now have a generation (at least) of people who believe that smiling recycling bins are our ticket out of the climate emergency. 

In reality, recycling should be the last “R” that we focus on. I wish that we had instead been taught to, “reduce, reuse, repair, rent, and when all other options are exhausted, recycle.” Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue in the same way though – I’m having trouble imagining a catchy jingle or eye-catching cartoon.  

So why is recycling a last resort and not the free pass towards being “green” that we think it is? 

In an earlier post, I addressed some of the specific problems with shoes and clothing “made from recycled materials.” But the issues with recycling extend far beyond the problems addressed in that post. 

1. For most, if not all, objects, the process of recycling degrades the material to the point that it cannot be recycled into the same product. This is downcycling, not true closed loop recycling. And often, that degraded product cannot be recycled again. So the recycling loop that we imagine in our heads and that triangle of arrows is far more linear than we are led to believe.

2. The process of recycling is not a “clean” one. Plastics in particular release toxins into the environment during the recycling process. And a recent study shows that that recycling plants release huge amounts of microplastics.

3. Recycling relies on the market. Recycling itself is an expensive process and requires having a buyer on the other side. Without a buyer on the other end, much of what is in the recycling bin gets landfilled. This is both bad for the environment and extremely cost inefficient 

4. Recycling is often wishcycling. Have you ever held a product in your hand and thought “Trash or recycling?” and, unsure of the answer, put it in the recycling bin in hopes that it is recyclable. Yeah, me too. This act, however, can contaminate our recycling and lead to more waste. And even for products that are recyclable in theory, they usually don’t get recycled. Statistics show that actual recycling rates of plastic are less than 10%. 

5. Recycling does not negate the emissions from the production of the product.

You know who already knew all of this, and more? The plastic industry. The plastic industry knew that recycling was not the viable solution it was made out to be but promoted it as a way to combat bans on single use plastics. 

So if recycling isn’t all that we were taught to believe, what can we do? Remember the rest of my new catch-phrase? “Reduce, reuse, refuse, repurpose, repair, rent.” It really is that simple.