Recycling Bins

The three arrows, in a continuous clockwise form-usually pressed on a blue bin in the corner of your workplace or school. You know what these bins stand for, and you were taught how to use them in grade school.

Is it laziness? Apathy? Ignorance? Disorganization? Maybe it’s a combination of it all.

Recycling non-recyclables seems to be counterintuitive. However, looking into our daily throw-aways may lead to damning evidence of our intrinsic cluelessness of what is meant to be thrown into the sacred blue bin. A disposable coffee cup? A take out container? Plastic straws and bags? Many of these items seem recyclable- yet tossing these one-use items into a recycling bin can cause nightmares for sorting facilities.

A quarter of all recycling is contaminated-and even more incriminating- the fact that those who consider themselves “environmentally conscious” mistake their recycling up to 44% of the time (National Waste and Recycling Association). It is daunting to think that our diligence to sort out our waste, our aspirations to be earth-friendly, and our hope and concern for our lifestyle’s impact can be entirely counterproductive.

The core of this issue comes from misinformation, and ultimately, vague policy and legislation. In some counties, you can recycle a pizza box. In neighboring ones, pizza boxes contaminate the entire load. It’s easy to blame the government for recycling failures- we are inherently uneducated. In grade school, you knew the three items you could recycle- paper, plastic, and glass. Were we expected to know that straws from our water cups and plastic wrapping from the grocery store didn’t apply to this seemingly simple rule?

It’s important not to take the easy way out. For us to truly create an impact through our recycling, we shouldn’t put policymakers in sole accountability. Get educated- make recycling a family activity. Check your local recycling rules. Work hard to uphold these requirements.

Maybe in the future, the Mobius Loop so synonymous with recycling will stand for more than just the cliché “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Something more representative of the potential of our efforts.

Responsibility. Policy. Impact.