This recent headline caught my attention: “California has a recycling crisis. The only way to solve it is to stop making so much trash“.
Since China stopped accepting recyclable materials, California is not the only place that is accumulating excess garbage, it is becoming a problem everywhere.
While recycling can help put a dent in the problem, it is not a solution. The Los Angeles Times Editorial has it right when they say we need to stop making so much trash.
Take a look at something as simple as plastic bags. The plastic bag problem continues to grow, they litter our environment, kill land animals and endanger marine life. All in the name of convenience.
They have become so convenient it is hard to break the habit.
What would happen if stores stopped providing plastic bags? If you are going shopping, you know you are going to need to carry home your purchases, so why not get in the habit of taking reusable bags to carry your items home? You know you are going to have to pay for what ever it is you buy, so you take your wallet with you. Just take it one step further and bring what you need to transport your purchase.
If stores stopped providing plastic bags, but had available for purchase reusable bags, how long do you think it would take for people to remember to bring their own reusable bags?
In Dr. Shafer’s article How We Think About Green his description of how the Cambodian countryside “presents a picture perfect example of a land drowning in the toxic excrement of its own rush toward a better life” is how the whole world will eventually be if we do not get our act together and “stop making so much trash”.
It is up to each of us as individuals to solve the “recycling crisis”.
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Hi Ana,
I totally agree. It has to come from all directions I think. One of the local “green markets” offers a small donation to a charity if you bring your own bags. Now they are taking it a step further, Wednesday is now “Green Day”. They will not give out any plastic bags, if a customer doesn’t bring them in they can “rent a reusable cloth bag”. I am curious to see how that works out. : ) Thanks for your comment!
Ana
It is all very true……but how does one stop humans from doing this?
If the shops put a ban on plastic carry bags , this means the companies manufacturing them go out of business and because of this it means there are few less jobs for those working in this plastic manufacturing companies….
Its all about the money….and it should start right at the top , where the big companies make their millions. They have to be stopped…and the government has this authority to prohibit this yet the government is so slack at taking a stand against ruining the environment. If they would ….the rest WILL follow.
If we can change the governments thinking, it will help with reversing the damage we have done to the planet.
Find Eco-friendly alternatives to everything that is harmful to the planet …and its a start.