"@#$% recycling?!" Active Versus Passive Recycling
Reduce, reuse, recycle.
We have all heard these three words repeated, and perhaps we have been the ones to repeat them.
Reduce, reuse, recycle.
Does it seem odd that we tend to focus on the second two words, and more often just the third word - recycle?
Reduce, reuse, recycle.
What if recycling was treated as the least important of the three steps, and we placed more importance on the reduced element?
It seems these words are not in this specific order by mistake and could be viewed in terms of weight & importance.
Join us for a conversation on a topic that is perhaps broader and wider than we could realize.
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Have you ever thought of where your recycling actually goes?
We are familiar with filling those blue bins with chasing arrows that share the same symbol as our plastic cups and bottles, wiping our hands clean, and thinking "I've done my part". But what happens after that? We know that a truck picks it up, but what about after? Sorting and selling, of course. But what happens if there are materials that have been placed in the bin that are not actually recyclable in the way we think? That is but one of the issues.
We have to ask ourselves when we are recycling, are we tossing things in recycling because it seems like the “right thing? Are we recycling in the hope that we are not being wasteful? Are we trying to square away a moral dilemma we feel within ourselves, that is somehow being mitigated by our recycling efforts? Okay, maybe we are thinking far too meta here. Yet the point remains that we should take time to reflect on the why of how we are making decisions.
This is what we mean by passive versus active recycling.
Passive recycling, as we are calling it, can be defined as "hopeful" recycling by tossing our plastic and one-time-use products into recycling bins. As stated in an NPR video titled "Is Reclying Worth It Anymore - The Truth Is Complicated" "...everyone keeps trying to pass it off to the next person".
We do not intend to assume there is a cynical or spiteful attitude behind these sorts of intentions and behavior here. Rather, an unawareness. Is that blissful? It is likely.
Active recycling begins with a conscious up-front reduction in the frequency of said products. It also can begin with the responsible sourcing of materials for consumer goods, and this falls on manufacturers.
The problem with recycling in late 2022 in the US specifically is not recycling in and of itself, it is consumption. If we look at the history of how recycling got started, it was so that we would be able to continue consuming & manufacturers could keep making a profit from increased production. The problem should be pointed towards them, as they have only perpetuated this. Manufacturers contaminate recycling efforts by mixing materials in products. The most popular example is that of the canister... Say, a Pringles can - which contains: paper, cardboard, and aluminum foil with glue. These combined materials put a halt to any recycling efforts and end up only confusing consumers further as to where to put their product upon completion.
This sort of mixed materials is what stopped our sending our bales to China, and we instead started sending our waste to Malaysia, and Indonesia until the UN banned this sending to any developing nations.
With manufacturers generating materials and us generating waste. Yet there are no purchasers who want or can accept these bales of waste, and the problem is that those purchasers were previously the ones who made new materials from recycled old ones.
It may sound strange that Sustain Coffee is telling you to not recycle - which is only partially true.
Yes, be responsible and sort and read up on how the disposable materials you frequent can be recycled. However, what we are saying is reduction should be the first step.
How do we relate this to coffee?
With coffee itself, we have the advantage of it being an organic product meaning that it can be composted, and our city has great composting efforts, to name a few: Atlas Organics, Compost Fairy, and Compost House. But take a moment to reflect on all the other elements that go into the coffee supply chain at least from a café perspective. The biggest ones, of course, are takeaway cups, lids, straws, napkins, coffee stirrers, one-time-use sugar packets, boxes, plastic wrap, bubble wrap, shipping materials, coffee bags... you see the picture. There’s no denying that these things in the café can be seen as necessary! Do we think that it’s realistic for all cafés to refuse to use one-time-use disposables? Certainly not. But what if more of us decided to reduce? Using personal cups in place of disposable ones is an easy, simple starting point. Taking time to sit and enjoy your coffee with the ceramics that a cafe likely put a lot of thought and capital into is another step in the right direction.
Again, we hope to not be cynical, but rather question the practicality of possible solutions to these bigger-than-us issues.
Summary of just a few of the problems with the current state of recycling in America
Recycling is costing money instead of making money
The general public is quite disconnected from the fulness of how recycling functions
Lack of federal regulation for recycling and lack of consistency between states
China no longer accepts our tons on tons of recyclable goods from the US (due to contamination of mixed materials & growth within their own country)
Closing:
These reasons are why we have structured our refill program in the way that it is. If you are unfamiliar with it, our refill program is a way for you to get tasty coffee/tea beverages delivered to your door. All of the bottles that we use are bottles that we have sourced from homes, cafes, and the like. Most of which are syrup bottles and 1L sparkling water bottles. If you are interested in trying a bottle, reach out on Instagram!
Let's end with a quote.
Monica Boehringer, Refuse and Recycling Coordinator, from Manassas, Va.
"We have Earth, right? We have this one planet. We only have so many places where we could put our waste. You can't put it in the ocean, look what happened. You can't put in on top of a mountain."
"Has consumerism driven me mad? As a recycler? The answer is no. What we would need to do is to work together with manufacturers to be more responsible in the development of products and maybe reduce some of the packagings. How do I square this with my life at home? For example, I have an affinity for applesauce. My applesauce containers and those little plastic cups are awesome for a lot of other different things. It's a single-use cup but it is something that I could use again, and I do. And how I square with all this, is I have hope. And I have energy. And I want to ignite the passion in someone to reinvent what they have. And maybe use it one more time? Just for me?"
America generates the most recycling in the world per capita. Manufacturers play a huge role in that, but let's not allow that to deter us from taking part in reduction ourselves.
Thanks for reading!
Until next time.
REFERENCES:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/17/plastic-recycling-myth-what-really-happens-your-rubbish
https://www.worth.com/the-dark-side-of-recycling/
https://dorecycling.com/blog/2016/04/27/the-dark-side-of-recycling/#:~:text=But%20to%20those%20that%20are%20working%20in%20these,that%20is%20notorious%20for%20having%20awful%20working%20conditions.
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/04/757539617/the-litter-myth