Why Recycling Plastic Bottles Doesn’t Help Solve the Problem
That’s because the energy it takes to recycle them is mind-boggling. It’s no simple task to melt down all those bottles, and the plastic is usually degraded in the process and can’t be used for food-grade products again.
To clarify, we aren’t knocking recycling. And we aren’t knocking Ecostar, because we love that they’re at least paying homage to greener materials and recycling. Recycling is a vital step to keeping items out of landfills and in the consumer stream. However, recycling should be a last line of defense in slowing down our consumption of natural resources. Plastic bottles — indeed anything disposable — is simply a bad idea from the start.
Reduce, and reuse are the two most important Rs in the loop. For some reason, recycling gets the most attention. It might be because it doesn’t require us to change the important habits, like shifting what items we buy in the first place so we avoid excessive packaging and disposable items.
It’s sort of amazing that in 2011, we’re still battling plastic bottles even after we know the destruction they cause. But just to hammer home the point, and since today [June 8] is World Oceans Day, we’ll end on this note:
It is estimated that we have 6 times more plastic than plankton in our Oceans.
If that doesn’t make you want to ban the bottle along with the bag, I’m not sure what will.
Has a point
This.
It’s also worth mentioning that recycling actually tends to hurt low income communities and communities of people of color. Many of these recycling centers are located in these communities, and to get the job done, somebody needs to come in contact with everything that needs to be recycled. Melting plastic gives off toxic fumes that affects both workers and the communities in which the centers are located, which is definitely something to keep in mind. I’d say this is all the more reason to put less emphasis on recycling and more emphasis on reducing consumption and reusing resources.
(via crunkfeministcollective)
