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.