OK, what I'm about to say is going to be pretty unpopular with the "dark greens" as I like to call them. The uber-eco, off-the-grid, Greenpeace-level peeps that want you to do everything possible to save the planet right now and make you feel like you are not doing enough. (Rinse, repeat)
But listen up, we are enviro(ish)....and ish-ness is the most critical ingredient of this entire works. It means relieving yourself from the guilt of not being perfect and doing everything, all the time. And that brings me to recycling...
You see, there's this secret about recycling. Our waste stream is not created equal*. We know this because of a handy process called lifecycle assessment. It tells us the energy it takes to make a product, the energy all the way from getting raw materials out of the ground, to manufacture, to customer, to use, and to the end of life.
*actually the inequality of municipal waste collection and recycling in this country is abysmal....so it really is an unequal experience depending on where you live, but that's another post for another time.
What it tells us, is that materials are not created equally (duh), but I mean really...think about that. It tells us the ecological impacts of materials when/if they get into the environment at end of life, as well as energy it takes to recycle those materials. Which inherently means that there's some materials that have worse impacts when tossed into nature than others (obv)....and there's some materials that are too energy-intensive or degrade when trying to be recycled (true). On the flip side, it tells us there are some materials that are of utmost importance to recycle. You ready for a list of some of these? enviro(ish) peeps unite!
So picture this scenario: you have an item to dispose of in your hand, and there's no recycling can in sight. Maybe you are traveling, on a plane, or in a different city. Do you throw away or hold onto it until you can recycle? Ask yourself these three questions....
But listen up, we are enviro(ish)....and ish-ness is the most critical ingredient of this entire works. It means relieving yourself from the guilt of not being perfect and doing everything, all the time. And that brings me to recycling...
You see, there's this secret about recycling. Our waste stream is not created equal*. We know this because of a handy process called lifecycle assessment. It tells us the energy it takes to make a product, the energy all the way from getting raw materials out of the ground, to manufacture, to customer, to use, and to the end of life.
*actually the inequality of municipal waste collection and recycling in this country is abysmal....so it really is an unequal experience depending on where you live, but that's another post for another time.
What it tells us, is that materials are not created equally (duh), but I mean really...think about that. It tells us the ecological impacts of materials when/if they get into the environment at end of life, as well as energy it takes to recycle those materials. Which inherently means that there's some materials that have worse impacts when tossed into nature than others (obv)....and there's some materials that are too energy-intensive or degrade when trying to be recycled (true). On the flip side, it tells us there are some materials that are of utmost importance to recycle. You ready for a list of some of these? enviro(ish) peeps unite!
So picture this scenario: you have an item to dispose of in your hand, and there's no recycling can in sight. Maybe you are traveling, on a plane, or in a different city. Do you throw away or hold onto it until you can recycle? Ask yourself these three questions....
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