As someone who actively tries to live sustainably and reduce my carbon foot print (even though I just bought a car…) I find I increasingly hate recycling.

Recycling does have some benefits of reducing waste and reusing old materials for new purposes, however I know too much. For instance I know that the amount of recycled material that can actually be used is almost too small to benefit the planet as the amount of industry it takes to produce these materials is astounding. Trucks to move the material, buildings and machines that run on nonrenewable resources and what to do with all the material we put in recycling that cannot actually be recycled. There is a whole process for that as well. Most of what we think we recycle goes right where we didn’t want it to go in the first place.

The other negative is that people think that just because they are recycling, they are doing enough and therefore do not have to add any other environmental practices to their life. This is a falsehood and a security blanket that people use all too often.

Therefore I find I no longer like recycling. I will still do it, but I will do so with the knowledge of the facade.