Dillon Zhang
For the past few decades recycling has been seen as the easiest way to help the environment with recycling bins becoming more and more common. Most households now sort paper, plastic, and glass into their recycling bins, thinking that they are contributing significantly to the preservation of our environment. Although recycling is important, we might need to reconsider other solutions and if recycling is enough for protecting the environment. Protecting the environment requires us to plan what we consume and not just how we dispose of our wastes. A common misconception that people have is that all the recyclable that we put in our recycle bins actually gets recycled. The truth is contaminated materials, sorting improperly, and the limiting recycling facilities cause a large amount of recyclable garbage to end up in landfills. Plastics are also not infinitely recyclable. Some can only be recycled a few times before they become unusable while others are too costly to process.
We often hear about the “three Rs” as reduce, reuse, and recycle. The order of the three Rs are intentional. Reducing consumption has the greatest and most direct impact in protecting the environment because it prevents the creation of wastes in the first place. Then it comes choosing reusable items such as water bottles, shopping bags, and food containers. These can significantly reduce the amount of single use plastic which often ends up in landfills or the ocean. Reusing products by repairing them or donating them can also extend their lifespan which reduces the demand for new resources and more waste.
Businesses can play an important role such as designing products with less packaging or using more sustainable materials. For example, the popularization of paper straws or paper shopping bags are real life examples of using more sustainable materials that many have witnessed. Governments can improve recycling infrastructure and promote a circular economy where there are less materials thrown away and more reused.
Individual efforts obviously still matter but it is not enough if we don’t make a collective effort and broader changes in society. Recycling is still an important practice that every household should continue, but people should not feel satisfied. By reducing waste and reusing products, we can make a much larger impact on protecting the planet than recycling ever could.
