I recently read the following analogy: Some people view recycling as a get out of jail free card and use the fact that they recycle as a license to consume. They purchase more and more stuff because they feel they have an outlet for their purchases when they are no longer needed. This way of thinking leaves out the very important first parts of the Three Rs: reduce and reuse.
As we are entering the season of unbridled consumption – Thanksgiving and Christmas – we are being inundated with advertisements telling us we need to buy this and eat that. These messages are everywhere and are hard to pass up. We go into a big box store for one item, can’t resist all the bargains we find, and leave with a full cart. We are a consumer driven society. We no longer manufacture products and services; we consume them, and as a result produce an unprecedented amount of waste.
Now don’t get me wrong; I want you to recycle your products when done with them, but I would like to point out that reduction is the best way to have a positive effect on the world in which we live. By reducing what you consume you make the biggest impact on saving natural resources and landfill space and the environmental impacts associated with landfills.
While recycling is a far better alternative than throwing materials in the trash, the reality is that recycling takes energy as well; much less than manufacturing from scratch, but it still uses water, electricity, and some natural resources. Our mantra has always been reduce by consuming less, reuse whenever possible, and when all that is done recycle responsibly.
EcoCycle, a nonprofit recycling center in Boulder, Colorado, assembled some facts about what all of this overconsumption looks like:
- In the past 50 years, humans have consumed more resources than in all previous history.
- U.S. consumption grew six-fold between 1960 and 2008 but the population in the U.S. only grew by a factor of 2.2. This mean our consumption nearly tripled.
- The way we produce, consume, and dispose of our products and our food accounts for 42% of the U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
- With only 5.1% of the world’s population, North America consumes just over 24% of global energy.
- Paper, metal, plastics, and glass consume 30.2% of the energy used for all U.S. manufacturing.
- In 2005, total ad spending worldwide reached $88 per person. But in the U.S. it was more than 10 times this amount at $933 per person. By this time it has surely increased further.
- Every year in the U.S. 200 billion beverage containers are sold, two-thirds of which are landfilled, incinerated, or littered.
I could go on and on but I think you get the picture: the U.S. is consuming way more than any other country and shows no sign of slowing down. Every person is responsible for slowing down this overconsumption and depletion of the Earth’s natural resources. We all know we can get by on less and we don’t want you to think that because you recycle you can consume without consequence. Recycling is part of the answer but certainly not the solution to this runaway consumption.
One of Sedona Recycles’ greatest supporters recently sent out a letter to all her friends and family requesting that in lieu of buying her a gift this holiday season they donate to Sedona Recycles. She let them know she has everything she could possibly want or need. She supports what we do and wants them to donate on her behalf. This idea could be used in support of all the wonderful nonprofits that serve in our community.
This doesn’t mean that you should not purchase anything, it just means that you should consume responsibly and thoughtfully. Buy only what you really need and always look for things with the least packaging. Bring your own bags no matter where you shop or eschew a bag altogether whenever you can. We can all examine our consumption habits and will most likely find we have plenty of stuff already and can think long and hard before we add to the pile.
We wish you all a happy holiday season. With less consumption comes less stress so relax and enjoy the things in life that matter most: the people around you who make your world a better place and the beauty of the place we are all blessed to live.
Reduce all the unnecessary stuff, reuse all the things you can, and in the end come to Sedona Recycles to recycle what is left. For more information on ways that you can reduce, reuse, and recycle this holiday season please contact us at (928) 204-1185.
by Jill McCutcheon, Sedona Recycles
Sedona Red Rock News
November 18, 2015