Interesting read about the current state of waste recycling in America. Each time I am in the grocery check-out line and the cashier asks "Paper or Plastic?" - I cringe inside as knowing that both choices are bad and one needs to be made. For many years, I lugged around my cloth bags to grocery stores and found it impractical for the way I tend to shop - a couple of big trips a month and then only quick stops for a few things. The most environmental harm comes from those two big trips that end up needing a lot of bags.
A greener way would be to walk to the nearest store and bring back what I can carry in my cloth bag - it is how my father still does it. He combines walking and grocery shopping every morning; something he can afford to do at this stage of his life. It seems like once a person grows older and the pace of their life slows down, being green becomes way more possible. Conversely, the more we automate our lives, and create more productive hours, the worse off things will be. Maybe the real solution to improving the environment lies in slowing us all down - not having to account for every minute of our day. Once people have jurisdiction over their time, it becomes easy to make decisions that serve the world better.
This FT story on why recycling is collapsing in America is a good read too. It is an interesting way to make peace with over-consumption
“Recycling is like a religion here,” says Laura Leebrick, head of government affairs at Rogue Disposal & Recycling in Southern Oregon. “It has been meaningful for people in Oregon to recycle, they feel like they are doing something good for the planet – and now they are having the rug pulled out from under them.”
A greener way would be to walk to the nearest store and bring back what I can carry in my cloth bag - it is how my father still does it. He combines walking and grocery shopping every morning; something he can afford to do at this stage of his life. It seems like once a person grows older and the pace of their life slows down, being green becomes way more possible. Conversely, the more we automate our lives, and create more productive hours, the worse off things will be. Maybe the real solution to improving the environment lies in slowing us all down - not having to account for every minute of our day. Once people have jurisdiction over their time, it becomes easy to make decisions that serve the world better.
This FT story on why recycling is collapsing in America is a good read too. It is an interesting way to make peace with over-consumption
“Recycling is like a religion here,” says Laura Leebrick, head of government affairs at Rogue Disposal & Recycling in Southern Oregon. “It has been meaningful for people in Oregon to recycle, they feel like they are doing something good for the planet – and now they are having the rug pulled out from under them.”
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