Beyond recycling: Reduce consumption and waste habits

Recycling is definitely a green activity that feels good. But is recycling enough? And does it address the core challenge of our consumption and waste habits?

In my last article, we examined Republic Services’ new facility, the Southern Nevada Recycling Center, with its impressive machinery and technology, designed to separate our recyclables, so we don’t have to. All we have to do is throw paper, aluminum, glass and plastics into the all-in-one recycle bin. It doesn’t get easier than that!

But is recycling enough?

The goal of recycling is threefold. First, it can help cut back our excessive extraction of natural resources. Recycling also can scale down the energy it takes to extract, produce and transport new products, thus cutting carbon emissions. And finally, it can reduce our landfills.

Americans are recycling only 30 percent of what could be recycled, leaving the other 70 percent going straight to the landfills. While increasing these recycling rates is important, it’s still just a Band-Aid. Even with the newest, largest recycling center in the U.S., Southern Nevada still generates an exponential amount of waste.

Recycling everything possible is vital. Buying products that can be recycled and are made from recycled materials is a necessary step in the right direction. And paying attention to what can and can’t be recycled is also necessary.

When asked what should not be put into all-in-one recycle bins, Len Christopher, general manager of the Southern Nevada Recycling Center, quickly responded, “plastic utensils, styrofoam, food waste, anything wet, plastic shopping bags and, oh yes, garden hoses and syringes.”

While many of these no-no’s are no-brainers, the rest only require simple changes, such as using reusable shopping bags and doing away with plastic utensils altogether.

Now, lets start thinking beyond recycling.

Out of sight, out of mind

Most people have seen TV stories of hoarders who live in spaces filled with stuff. I entered a home in Japan where there was no place to sit or even stand except in the crowded hallway.

While I stared at the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling stuff, I was amazed and slightly disgusted. However, it occurred to me that most Japanese urban homes have limited closet space and cupboards and zero coat closets, pantries, garages or sheds.

Imagine if we emptied our closets and storage spaces into our homes. We may be just as surprised and disgusted if piles of unused stuff filled our homes.

I was surprised myself years ago when we moved from our five-bedroom home to a smaller living space. I consider myself a minimalist, yet had collected truckloads of stuff — stuff I didn’t remember having and obviously didn’t need or use. The shock started me rethinking about how, when and what I would purchase in the future.

Changing the cycle

Here are some alternative ideas for packaging and disposable waste:

n Use reusable shopping bags.

n Buy products with less or no packaging.

n Buy products made from recycled material.

n Write companies to request better or minimal packaging

n Make your own cleaning products.

n Compost carbon-rich and nitrogen-rich materials such food waste and leaves.

n Eat smaller portions and save leftovers for later or share.

n When entertaining, remind guests to bring their own containers for leftovers to reduce food waste.

Upcycling stuff

While recycling means to break something down into smaller parts, upcycling is creating something of higher quality or value. This is sometimes referred to as repurposing. I am fortunate to live with the “king of repurposing.” My husband will take anything that has lost its luster and find a new, shiny purpose for it.

On our recent move back from Japan, my brother, who was moving out of a house and into a smaller space, gave us many of his household things. Among those items were a queen-size bed, a wooden shelf for a garage, some patio cushions and tools.

We were grateful for these gifts, and although I thought a queen-size bed was just fine, my husband had bigger plans. I left him to his creative madness and returned one day to find our queen-size bed turned longways. In the area where we would rest our heads, he had built a perfect fitting wooden extension, topped with resized, repurposed cushions, turning our queen into a king bed.

Nearly anything can be repurposed, regifted or reused with just a little bit of creativity and effort.

How much is enough?

Finally, if we take time to examine our consumption habits, there is plenty of room for improvement. Our challenge is that we live in a growth-based economy in which producing, buying, throwing away and buying more is essential for companies to continue to make profits. However, this is a progress trap that is unsustainable.

Re-evaluating our daily waste, from the packaging of the food we choose to the frequency we buy big-ticket items, can help reduce our waste. Challenge your family and friends to reduce, reuse, repurpose or regift your stuff. And as a last resort — recycle!

Mary Beth Horiai has split her adult life between Japan and Southern Nevada. In Las Vegas, Horiai works for the nonprofit, Green Our Planet. A graduate of UNLV, she was trained as a speaker for The Climate Reality Project and also teaches part-time at College of Southern Nevada. For more information and links to additional resources relating to this column, visit driverofchange.net.