Wheels on the Earth Go Round and Round

 

“There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere.”
– Annie Leonard, TheStoryOfStuff.com.

 

In the summer of 2010, I left my job and joined the Natural Awakenings family of publishers. Four months later, I attended a lecture and book signing by Tom Szaky, founder of TerraCycle, whose aim is to eliminate the idea of waste by keeping materials out of landfills and incineration, and by promoting reuse and reducing consumption.

 

I’ve been patting myself on the back ever since about the diligence of my home recycling effort. After all, I’m doing MY part, right? Years have turned into decades, during which I’ve separated my recyclables consistently. Undoubtedly, many of us have done the same. The collective, combined volume over time surely has made a dent in the amount of plastic that has been diverted from the landfill…, so good on us. We’re doing our part.

 

As April brings another Earth Day celebration, my recycling complacency is replaced by humility and growing concern. It’s easy to feel good about my effort, however the reality hits hard. On average in the U.S., only 5 percent of plastic waste collected for recycling is actually recycled into new products. 85 percent ends up in landfills and 10 percent is incinerated. The vast majority of “recyclable” plastic in the U.S. never becomes something new—it either gets burned, buried or discarded as pollution.

 

Despite this data, let’s continue best practices to reduce plastic waste: buy in bulk without packaging, choose glass, metal or paper over plastic, avoid single-use bags, switch to bar soaps and refillable products (visit Refillism.com in York). And let’s do MORE.

 

Let’s shift the conversation from, “How do we deal with waste?” to “How do we design and implement systems that prevent waste in the first place?” In our feature article, Claire Potter shares, “No waste is produced in nature, and everything flows.” On his Wiki page, Szaky explains how he came to understand that waste is a “modern idea”.

 

Evolving into a circular economy is not a new concept. Local and international initiatives have been underway for years. Being part of the circular economy goes beyond recycling and buying less plastic—it’s about changing habits, supporting innovative businesses, demanding accountability and helping build community solutions. Let’s learn and do more.

 

Be mindful that there is no “away.” Keep stuff flowing back into reuse as we share the journey to feeling good, living simply and laughing more.