Materialism, recycling, and climate change

 Katie Bloomer

Materialism, recycling, and climate change

As a kid, I thought that I was an environmentalist because I turned the lights off when leaving a room, used a reusable water bottle, and recycled. It turns out that these things are the absolute bare minimum and the difference they make could be seen as negligible in the grand scheme of things. In reality, there needs to be a complete shift in the culture surrounding sustainability in order to avoid the devastating effects that climate change will otherwise have in the future. Global warming is a universal crisis that impacts everyone regardless of their individual environmental contributions. The increasing temperature is largely due to rising carbon dioxide levels, to which human activity is the main contributor. More specifically, factory manufacturing and landfill disposal processes release significant amounts of carbon dioxide. This unnaturally large amount of carbon dioxide blocks heat from escaping the atmosphere as it naturally would and results in rising temperatures on earth.

Manufacturing is a large contributor to greenhouse gasses and our society is plagued by materialism. The majority of us are accustomed to making unnecessary purchases without giving them a second thought. Companies continue to manufacture massive amounts of goods with the knowledge that consumers will continue to buy them, even when they are not needed. These factory processes use astronomical amounts of energy to run the machines and keep the factories operational. In general, the use of energy releases greenhouse gasses. In fact, using a mere 750 grams of gasoline releases 2300 grams of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Imagine this ratio when multiplied to account for the large amounts of gasoline and other fuels used everyday. Overall, consumerism is one of the major contributors to greenhouse gasses and therefore a top cause of climate change. 

Overconsumption directly correlates to trash that is produced since many things end up being thrown away at the end of their lives. Unfortunately, landfills are one of the leading producers of carbon dioxide. More specifically, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated that municipal solid waste in landfills accounts for approximately 14% of methane emissions. Less waste needs to be sent to landfills which means something needs to change, and that transition should not be towards recycling. 

Recycling is like a Band-Aid, it might reduce the chances of things getting worse, but it does not actually solve the problem. At least Band-Aids are a visual reminder that there is something wrong while recycling acts as more of a camouflage, completely disguising the bigger issue. In this case, the overarching problem is climate change. Why isn’t recycling a great solution? The process of recycling a bottle requires staffing to collect and sort the bottles, energy to melt them down, and machines to reform them into something new. This does total up to be less resource intensive than creating a new bottle, but nevertheless, it still uses resources that could have been conserved by using a reusable bottle. The same goes for paper, glass, and practically anything else that we mindlessly throw into those green bins. If recycling is actually not so great, then why do people do it? As humans, we like to feel that we are doing good, and recycling is advertised as the end-all solution to the massive amount of waste that people generate. Think about the classic green triangle with arrows and the catchphrase “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” It is the only environment related thing that is taught in nearly every elementary school because it is seen as the only solution needed. Classrooms across the country are united by the small green bins that sit in the corner of the room. After years of seeing these bins, this pesky little symbol has infiltrated our brains and filled up the entire space reserved for caring about the earth. If I could weed this symbol out of each individual person’s brain I would. Maybe that would allow us to spend more time and energy making changes that will truly have an impact. 

You must be wondering, Katie, do you recycle? Of course, I do! Even though it is an imperfect system that masks a problem, recycling beats the alternative which is sending everything directly to the landfill. When possible, I choose package-free or compostable options rather than recyclable, but I will always choose recycling over trash. Although I am not optimistic that recycling will save us from the climate crisis, improvements to the process could potentially give a boost to the spirits of environmentalists and lead to further actions taken by those who are intrigued by the sustainability movement. Sometimes it just comes down to sustainability culture. People need to have the desire to save the planet or nothing meaningful will ever get done. No matter how many bottles we recycle it won’t matter if they are still produced at massive rates. If we want to see any progress against the climate crisis, we need to work together to change the way things are done, starting with our own actions.