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Why Not Recycle

Cnn asked five people why they don't recycle. Convenience, storage and confusing programs are the main reasons. "Recyclers have their own language. It's like a foreign country," says one man.

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37 views

Why Not Recycle

Cnn asked five people why they don't recycle. Convenience, storage and confusing programs are the main reasons. "Recyclers have their own language. It's like a foreign country," says one man.

Uploaded by

johnribar
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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RTL | Recycling | Transfer Stations | Landfills

As Seen In

Recycling
Why People Dont Recycle
Ashley schiller
A lot of people justdont recycle. While there mAy be A temptAtion to imagine them as conspiring Earth Haters who take orders directly from Skeletor, they are usually normal people who try to contribute positively to society in other ways. They are members of our family, our neighbors and our friends. So what makes them choose to bypass the blue bin? We investigated five individuals who do not regularly recycle. A better understanding oftheir whycan help proponents of recycling better understand the how ofwhat can be done to increase participation.

WasteAdvantage
The Advantage in the Waste Industry

The Twenty-Something Bachelor


Meet Matt, a recent business college graduate living in Utah. While adapting to his new job, Matt isalso preparing toinvest inhis firsthome,not to mentionfinding a nice young lady with whom he can settle down. He gives five reasons for not recycling. My number one reason is convenienceor should I say, inconvenience, he says. We dont have a [curbside] recycling program where I live. You have to collect all of your items and then drive themto the middle of nowhere to drop them off. It takes too much extra effort. Storage is another barrier, especially for those living in multi-family housing, according to

Matt.Where am I going to put all of that stuff? I dont have a lot of extra space, and I dont really want my garbage lying around my house while it builds up. Although convenience and storage are the main reasons Matt does not recycle, there are other factors, including confusing programs. During college, Matt lived in an apartment complexwith a dumpster for recyclablesin the parking lot.Even though itmade recycling moreconvenient,hedidnt use it because he didnt know the rules. You cant mix this plasticwith that one. Cardboard is okay, but not that pizza box, even though itscardboard. Recyclers have their own language. Its likea foreign country, and Idont want to be a tourist there, he says. Matt also doesnt like thephilosophy of city-fundedprograms.Im sure that they pay for themselves to some degree, but I amannoyed that my tax dollars go to recycling programs, he says. If people are into recycling, they should do it on their own. Its not governments place to decide which causes I support. Matts final reason is an interestinginsight for those trying to motivate their friends to get involved. The superior attitude of many pro-recyclers is an enormous turnoff. I wish theywould just get off their high green horses, he says. Stop be-ing snotty about it. Get your nose outof the air.Stop acting like youre better than me because you recycle.It makes me want to throwsomething in the trashjust to spite you.

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WasteAdvantage Magazine December 2011

As Seen In

RTL | Recycling | Transfer Stations | Landfills


The Thirty-Something Family Guy
Darren is a family guy working for a nonprofit organization in Washington, DC. Whilehis wife is more apt to recycle, Darren hasa hard time making economic sense of it. Im very skeptical of environmental claims because they are rarely economic, he says. Economically speaking, some recycling isnt cost effective, he argues, citing plasticas an example of a controversial material while others are agreed to be costeffective, such as aluminum cans. What I wish everyone would learn in Economics 101 is that there are trade-offs in life. There are both benefits and downsides to recycling, Darren explains. Individually, time is the most precious resource we use when we recycle. You could have done something else with that time used to recycle, and you can never get back spent time. On the city level, its time, effort and money. It is a question of whether recycling is the best use of that money, or if it would be better spent on education or health care. There are always trade-offs. However, people differ in what they consider to be the best trade-off. I think a lot of people recycle because it makes them feel good, and thats fine. For me personally, I get no benefit from recycling, so I dont do it,he says. Darren also says people dont think about what resources will have to be used to recycle their product. He uses the examples of diapers. While many people are critical of plastic diapers, cleaning cloth diapers use water and energy, as well asrequiring theuse of chemicals that could eventually get back into the water supply. These are strong detergents, but you want a very clean diaper on your baby. What is the environmental thing to do? he asks. There isalso not a strong program in Jennys school. Some classrooms have small bins for paper, but she says no one enforces actually using them. Aside from a short lecture at the beginning of the year, there is not much talk about recycling on The Advantage in the Waste Industry campus.None of Jennys friends recycles, either, and peer influence is especially powerful for teens. Its just not a big deal. No one really thinks about it, she says.

WasteAdvantage

The Proud Grandparents


With18grandchildren and one more on the way, James and Susan keep a full schedule, even thoughtheyre partiallyretired. Before settling down in New Mexico, theylivedall overthe West. Theirinvolvement in recyclinghas depended largely on the local programs available wheretheywereliving. Now I live in a State that doesnt give you any incentive to recycle, so I dont usually do it,James says. Many years ago,the coupletried togettheirkids excited about recycling. Over the course of about a year, the family worked together to fill a large garbage sack full of crushed cans. The plan was to turn them in anduse the money for a fun family activity. But thelocal company paid out very little for the cans, and thetotalwas only $3.50a great disappointment to the kids especially. We had saved religiously, but the payout was terrible, James remembers. That was the last time I ever tried to recycle. It barely paid for my gasoline to get down there. Without a good program that pays a nickle or dime per can, your only incentive is your guilty conscience. But not everyone feels guilty about not recycling. Until States get behind it and make it more worthwhile, a lot of people just wontdoit, James says. Susan agrees. Even if youre not an environmentalist, you can be an economist and recycleif there are money incentives,shesays. Having to store recyclables for a long amount of time if you dont have a curbside program can also be very dirty, Susan points out.We had ants and it was all stinky when we tried to save up those cans, even when we tried to wash everything out. A curbside recycling programwould make an enormous difference, James adds. The wayrecycling is set up around here, the burden falls on the recycler, not the company doing the recycling, he says. Im not going to take that pop can and drive it around town searching for a recycling bin, but ifthey pick it up from me without charge, thats a different story.

The Sweet Sixteen-ager


Jenny is an enthusiastic teenager who squeezed in a quick interview between lacrosse games.Her goal is to become a neurosurgeon.Jennysmain reason for not recycling hasa familiar ring: lack of convenience. I hardly ever recycle.If I actuallyfind a recycling bin I doits not like I hate the earth or something, shesays. It would make a big difference if there was a program in my city.

What We Learned
One reoccurring barrierwas the lack of convenience for those who do not havea curbside program. In the words of Susan, Id certainly separate my trash if I could just roll it out to be picked up every week for free. I think everyone would. The message is that we still have a long way to go in expanding curbside programs to everyone. Facilitating discussion about local recycling programs will put pressure on cities to offer such programs. Those who live in a city without curbside recycling can be more vocal with local leaders. More visibility of recycling campaigns (especially online) could increase excitement among teenagers, many of whom, according to Jenny, are simply disconnected from recycling. It is important not to ignore this crowd, as they will be the decision-makers in the future. A finalaction an individual can take is tocheckpersonal behavior to make sure he or she is contributing to recyclings image in a positive way. Just as Matt pointed out, there is an attitude of superiority that other interviewees mentioned as well. Optimism and a friendly invitation to participate will sell better than guiltor social segregation, and excitementisthe best tool for recruitment. | WA Ashley Schiller is a freelance writer contributing to www.earth911.com living in Washington, D.C. This article was reprinted with permission from www.earth911.com. Visit the original link at http://earth911.com/news/2010/10/25/why-people-dontrecycle.
2011 Waste Advantage Magazine, All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from Waste Advantage Magazine. Contents cannot be reprinted without permission from the publisher.

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WasteAdvantage Magazine December 2011

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