A critique of recycling as an industry

Recycling is an important step to take in making our lives more sustainable. However, recycling is not the best way to care for the environment for a number of reasons.

Firstly, recycling requires a large commitment to transportation of recyclable items. There are many steps to the recycling of materials, including transportation to a recycling center and then to a different location where the materials can be repurposed. When recycling takes place on a large scale, this transportation can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.

Secondly, it is not something that is done with the environment in mind. Recycling centers are paid for the material that they send back to companies. These companies then continue repurposing this material back into the same products over and over again rather than innovating something new and reusable. In some cases, using recycled material is less expensive than creating new ones, saving companies money in the long run.

This is not to say that you should not recycle but that it is not the perfect system that it is often said to be. At the core is the greed of companies that want to save money and appear sustainable in the eyes of the public, while still using unsustainable practices. Despite this, it is much better than single use plastics and cardboard ending up in places they shouldn't be and having a negative impact on the environment.