3 ms·

Plastic recycling is (like most environmental "progress"), a case of people pretending a lot is being done while actually nothing is being done. Lots of places

Plastic recycling is (like most environmental "progress"), a case of people pretending a lot is being done while actually nothing is being done. Lots of places mark things recyclable when they are not. Governments refuse to require proper labelling or better yet tax or ban non-recyclable plastics. Companies routinely lie about the recycled content of their plastic. Municipalities insist waste is sorted, then just throw it all in the same landfill. You've heard of security theatre? We have recycling theatre and emissions agreement theatre and 101 other similar stitch-ups

helen___keller 4y ago
It can be compelling to think that recycling theatre exists for commercial interests: for the environmentally minded, if you can fool yourself into thinking that the recycling bin is effective, then you feel no guilt about buying multiple drinks in plastic cups and bottles every day. Without the plastic containers, many sources of revenue disappear. People are conditioned to pay for plastic water bottles, but often expect water fountains to be free. As a wealthy consumer, it's much more convenient to buy a bottle of water when I need it, rather than carry a metal bottle with me everywhere for when I need it (and then refill at water fountains). The $1 cost of the bottle is negligible to me, so the only thing holding me back is the guilt of knowing that I am contributing to unsustainable economic practices. In truth however, the same could be said for the meat I eat, the car I drive every day, my luxurious single family home with grass lawn, the luxurious levels of heating / AC I use every year, and so on. Very little of what I consume is 'sustainable' so even if we didn't have recycling theatre it's easy to get sustainability fatigue and buy the plastic bottle of water anyways.

3 ms·

Plastic recycling is (like most environmental "progress"), a case of people pretending a lot is being done while actually nothing is being done. Lots of places

by LatteLazy 4y ago

helen___keller 4y ago
It can be compelling to think that recycling theatre exists for commercial interests: for the environmentally minded, if you can fool yourself into thinking that the recycling bin is effective, then you feel no guilt about buying multiple drinks in plastic cups and bottles every day. Without the plastic containers, many sources of revenue disappear. People are conditioned to pay for plastic water bottles, but often expect water fountains to be free. As a wealthy consumer, it's much more convenient to buy a bottle of water when I need it, rather than carry a metal bottle with me everywhere for when I need it (and then refill at water fountains). The $1 cost of the bottle is negligible to me, so the only thing holding me back is the guilt of knowing that I am contributing to unsustainable economic practices. In truth however, the same could be said for the meat I eat, the car I drive every day, my luxurious single family home with grass lawn, the luxurious levels of heating / AC I use every year, and so on. Very little of what I consume is 'sustainable' so even if we didn't have recycling theatre it's easy to get sustainability fatigue and buy the plastic bottle of water anyways.