Enough Waste!
Lloyd Alter
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November 15th is America Recycles Day, "the only nationally recognized day dedicated to the promotion of recycling programs in the United States. One day to inform and educate." And what are they teaching you? That it is OK to buy disposable crap and throw it away, as long as you put it in the right place. That it is OK for corporations to stick you with the responsibility of paying taxes to hire people to take this stuff away and separate it and try and sell it. And who is doing the informing and educating? Who is behind America Recycles Day? Among others:
Beer companies. Soda pop companies. The Chemicals lobby. Aluminum companies. All the people who have a vested interest in you buying more crap, the people who are essentially making you feel good about participating in a system where they get to make more glass, more plastic and ship it farther. They want you to recycle because fifty years ago when they introduced disposables, they had to teach you not to litter, with the Keep America Beautiful campaign, and then 25 years ago they had to deal with the fact that they were so successful that the dumps were filling up.
Our willingness to participate in the recycling fraud permits them to avoid producer responsibility, a closed loop where through deposit and return systems, they take their bottles back and refill them. That's why there should be deposits on everything.
That is why we should really be celebrating Zero Waste Day on November 15, to send a message that Recycling isn't good enough anymore. it is nothing to celebrate. We want more.
Make November 15 Zero Waste Day.
* Support a restaurant that has real mugs and china.
* Support companies that have deposits and returnable packaging.
* Buy only fresh food that comes without packaging.
* Go zero waste for just a single day.
* Buy electronics and tech from companies that take it back at the end of it's life.
* Don't buy anything disposable for just one day.
Stop the Brainwashing!
More on Alternatives to Recycling:
Recycling is Bullshit; Make Nov. 15 Zero Waste Day, not America Recycles Day
There Are At Least 10 R's, And Recycling Is The Least Of Them
Is Recycling the Most Important Part of a Zero Waste Life?
7 Ways to Precycle, Upcycle, and DIY Your Way to (Almost) Never Recycling Again
