Challenging the recycling hype at a summer picnic

At a picnic last week, friends were all talking about how much they recycle. I said recycling helps, but it's not enough to fix climate change. Everyone got quiet, and the host looked annoyed. I stayed calm and talked about needing better laws. Later, a couple people said I made them think.

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the_viola7mo ago

I used to be super strict about sorting my plastics, really believed I was doing my part. Then I read about how most waste management depends on where you live and what companies actually do with the materials. It made me realize putting the blame on regular people lets the bigger polluters off the hook. Now I focus more on reducing what I buy first.

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elliot8367mo ago

Switched from sorting guilt to just buying less stuff after reading the same kind of articles, @the_viola. Started with easy swaps, like using bar soap instead of body wash in plastic bottles. Now I hit up the local grocery's bulk bin with my own jars for pasta and rice (way cheaper too). It turns out half my recycling was food containers, so just cutting those out made a bigger dent. Feels better to make less trash in the first place than worry where it all ends up.

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the_hayden7mo ago

My recycling bin was a tragic mix of pizza boxes and shampoo bottles until I gave up. Turns out being too lazy to sort properly accidentally helped the planet?

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