Reduce, Reuse, RECONSIDER: It's Time to Throw Out Old Habits

         PART FOUR: Conclusion & Analysis

Despite my previous predictions, this paper has brought me to the conclusion that recycling is, in fact, not completely bullshit. The facts show that the recycling of basic products is, although varied in percentages, energy efficient, nonetheless (Hutchinson, Alex). Beyond the high rates of energy savings in common aluminum cans, paper, and plastic bottles, more techniques and advancements are being made toward the recycling processes of more complicated materials made of plastic (Fact Sheet: Recycling the Hard Stuff), and will hopefully open a door to a strong new wave of innovations in the recycling of even more of our often-wasted items.

FIGURE 1: Other Spending section of the US Federal Budget from
 fiscal year 2004 to estimated 2019 (United States Federal)

However, Part Three of my research series shows the crucial regulations that put the Eurasian continent so far ahead of ours in their care for the environment. Whether with a Home Appliance Recycling law (Electric Appliance Recycling in Japan) or a Packaging Recycling law (Trash Planet: Germany), both European and Asian countries’ (e.g. Germany and Japan) governments are not afraid to take hold of our ever expanding environmental issues and work towards putting an end to them. It’s time that the United States stops trying to lead and turns to follow the examples being set overseas. In 2014, the US government spent 820.2 billion dollars on its defense, compared to the 112.6 billion spent on education, and 31.4 billion spent somewhere else (which includes waste management, pollution abatement, community development, etc.), as seen in Figure 1 (United States Federal). Now, to get into the federal budget and its issues alone is for an entirely different debate, but these statistics right here prove that there is the capacity for more money towards saving our whole planet once we resign from expending money just toward saving ourselves (i.e. 820.2 billion on the US defense budget).

Closing the door on my former beliefs, I am now open to recycling. Although I will remain hesitant with my more densely created items (e.g. packaging composing several different materials), I know that products, such as aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and paper, are recycled efficiently enough that I’ll take the time to stock my green bin with them. As for the complex objects, I will keep up with the advancement of recycling technologies until they are at a point where it is fully efficient to bring them in to my nearest SOCCRA organization. But reducing & reusing my stuff, such as glass jars or other household materials, will always precede even considering the recyclability of them. Those first two Rs are the most cardinal of the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” anthem, and they’re the most often neglected.

Lastly, the huge polluting tanks connecting us to this “green” process are a hugely unnecessary and contradicting factor. Whether we must create a shorter route for the recycling pick-up trucks, by making “loading/drop-off” stations at the end of each street rather the end of each driveway, decreasing the irony in the collection of recyclables will avoid critics like me and easily popularize the recycling bandwagon.

After Penn & Teller’s Bullshit! episode on recycling has been talked down on its credibility and open-mindedness by many, including a key source himself (Miller, Chaz), I have looked into the facts and created a “debunking” evaluation of my own. Although reducing and reusing should be primary concerns, and recycling has a long way to go, the accusation that recycling is bullshit, is bullshit.

WORKS CITED

"Electronic Appliance Recycling in Japan." Www.informinc.org. INFORM, Inc., Nov. 2003. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.informinc.org/fact_JapanEPR.pdf.

“Fact Sheet: Recycling the Hard Stuff." Www.epa.gov. US Environmental Protection Agency, July 2002. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/ghg/f02023.pdf.

Hutchinson, Alex. "Recycling By the Numbers: The Truth About Recycling."

Popular Mechanics. Popular Mechanics, n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/recycling/4291576.

Look, Marie. "Trash Planet: Germany." Earth911: More Ideas, Less Waste. Earth911, 13 July 2009. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.earth911.com/earth-watch/trash-planet-germany/.

Miller, Chaz. "Bullshit!" Waste360. Waste360, 1 July 2004. Web. 12 May 2014. http://waste360.com/mag/waste_bullshit.

"United States Federal, State, and Local Government Spending." Government Spending Details. Christopher Chantrill, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/year_spending_2014USbn_15bs2n_3080#usgs302.

Reduce, Reuse, RECONSIDER: It's Time to Throw Out Old Habits

     PART THREE: What About Eurasia?

 After learning of the history of recycling and clearing up some of the primary causes and initiatives for the nationwide catapult into environmentalism, we’ve also taken some time to look into the actual efficiency of some of our most common recyclables, including aluminum cans, plastic water bottles, glass, and paper. The saved energy, although varied, with the recycling of each of these products all proved to be beneficial, although there is advancement needed (and coming along!) for the recycling of our more dense and complicated materials (Fact Sheet: Recycling the Hard Stuff).

            Now, let’s take a 180 & turn our views over to the other side of the world: Eurasia. Having civilized centuries before us, it wouldn’t be far off to assume that our overseas counterparts may have technologies in place that we haven’t yet come to. Or would the global industrial revolution for both Eurasia and United States aid us in keeping up to par?

Japan, on the other hand, can’t be similarly grouped with the long-lived industrial societies of Europe and Asia. Having isolated its nation from outside contact for nearly twenty years, catching up with the ever-developing societies of the world could not have been easy. Yet, today, Japan remains one of the most prosperous industrial nations in the world, and, more importantly, one of the most environmentally efficient.

Being just a little bit smaller than the state of Montana, the self-sustaining society of Japan was forced to check into environmentally-friendly regulations a long time ago, being that there wasn’t much room in their country for waste. One of their most solid and productive policies is the Home Appliance Recycling Law, which requires manufacturers and importers to take responsibility for the recycling of their own products, including televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines (Electronic Appliance Recycling in Japan). With this regulation, residents pay a small recycling fee with the return of their purchases to a designated facility, with prices ranging from 18 to 38 dollars, depending on the size of the item. This price doesn’t mean much when you compare it to the numbers of years it can aid us in preserving our planet. Within this law is also a Separation Collection policy, requiring that with each sale of an item, that consumer must return a product purchased before. Similar requirements for electronics are in place in Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Norway, as this necessity is completely logical, and convenient for consumers. Want to upgrade to a new washing machine because your old one keeps breaking down? Easily rid of it while shopping for your new one!

Japan also has a Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, to enforce, within businesses, the process of waste separation, waste collection, and the recycling of their own created surplus (Containers and Packaging Recycling Law). Japan’s Food Recycling Law encourages food-related establishments to “reduce the generation of food waste during production in order to implement recycling methods and promote heat recovery and weight reduction (Marra, Federica).” In 2010, this law had Japan recycling 82% of its food waste; not only is our Pacific neighbor working outside of the box by taking an alternate recycling aspect with our chow, the results are fantastic. Lastly, Japan was also dominantly related to the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement correlated with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Kyoto Protocol set “internationally binding emission reduction targets,” and is now on its second stage of the commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to at least 18% lower than the levels they were in 1990.

On the other side of Eurasia, Germany has crucially prominent recycling rates as well. The European Union celebrated Germany’s landfill additions being close to nothing in 2010, as 45% of municipal waste was recycling, 17% composted, and 38% burned (Birkenstock, Günther). The Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act was a huge contribution to this effort. Passed in 1996, this law enacts three strategies for productions to eliminate waste. First, waste avoidance is looked into with the abolishment of superfluous manufacturing and packaging. Then, what cannot be avoided is recycled or converted into energy, and the remainder after that process is disposed of in an environmentally safe way (Trash Planet: Germany).

Another recycling management policy in Germany is the Packaging Ordinance, requiring manufacturers to collect and then reuse or recycling the remainders of their products after disposed of. Since this regulation was put in place in 1991, persisting difficulties led to the creation of the non-profit organization of Duales System Deutschland (DSD) (Trash Planet: Germany). This organization created the “Green Dot” Trademark, and provided a way for industries to easily ensure that their products are recycled. Manufacturers pay to join DSD and are then allowed to print a green dot on all of their packaging. The more packaging, the more the businesses pay. Packaging with “Der Grüne Punkt” is guaranteed acceptance into all recycling factories, and DSD actually exists throughout 25 European countries. These recycling efforts not only condensed landfill waste, but avoided 1.8 million tons of CO2 emissions in 2008.

As you can see, Germany, Japan, and much of the land in between them have been making large advancements in their environmentally efficient cultures. From cracking down on the manufacturers, to having full cooperation from their constituents, the governments of these nations have reached high heights and are looking to go even further. The described policies are all regulations that the United States can and should implement, let alone surpass, with us being the worldwide “superpower.” What’s keeping us so far behind? Sounds more like it’s time to reduce, reuse, and readapt.

WORKS CITED

Birkenstock, Günther. "EU Praises German Recycling Measures." DW.DE. Deutsche Welle (DW), 23 Apr. 2013. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.dw.de/eu-praises-german-recycling-measures/a-15905414.

"Containers and Packaging Recycling Law." METI Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. METI Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/recycle/main/english/law/contain.html.

"Electronic Appliance Recycling in Japan." Www.informinc.org. INFORM, Inc., Nov. 2003. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.informinc.org/fact_JapanEPR.pdf.

“Fact Sheet: Recycling the Hard Stuff." Www.epa.gov. US Environmental Protection Agency, July 2002. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/ghg/f02023.pdf.

Look, Marie. "Trash Planet: Germany." Earth911: More Ideas, Less Waste. Earth911, 13 July 2009. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.earth911.com/earth-watch/trash-planet-germany/.

Marra, Federica. "Food Waste in Japan: How Eco-towns and Recycling Loops Are Encouraging Self-Sufficiency." Food Tank RSS. Food Tank, 23 Nov. 2003. Web. 11 May 2014. http://foodtank.com/news/2013/11/food-waste-in-japan-how-eco-towns-and-recycling-loops-are-encouraging-self.