“Reduce, reuse,
recycle” is a saying that people know and learn from a young age in America This saying dates back to the1970’s when Americans were calling for action to be taken for the pollution inthe air. Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act was passed in 1976 and this is when people say the “reduce,
reuse. Recycle” slogan came about. There are fun songs with colorful depictions
of children recycling and reusing items, and yet as we get older we yearn for
easier ways to dispose of things and we crave convenience over anything. All
this to say is that a lot of times people will not do the right thing unless
they are incentivized to do so. This could mean making the task easier, more convenient,
or receiving money or something in return. Unfortunately, this is how most
people are at their core. They want something in return for being a good person
and citizen.
Kalamazoo started an incentive program last May forrecycling. It is broken down for single-family households as well as
multifamily households. For single-family households they will be provided with a recycling at home kit that creates more convenience and ease for taking the
recycling to the curb. This increased the number of recycling routes tons of
recycling that were being picked up by 94%. And for multifamily households, there
are plans to bring in new infrastructure as well as education to almost one thousand
households.
Exxon Mobile is attempting to
bring a new type of recycling, advanced recycling. They plan to collect those recycled pieces
that are “hard-to-recycle” and then sort these items before being sent to
plastic recovery facilities. Next, they are shredded into their physical and
chemical qualities. At the fourth step, they are rebuilt into liquid and gas molecules,
where finally these new creations can be used as something completely different.
By doing this they could give a whole
new life to an old used potato chip bag. This is a great idea but is this
feasible on a large scale? This will not stop people from overconsuming things
like one-time-use plastic water bottles but it will at least clear out the
landfills a little better.
In Hong Kong, they gave the residents a card that they could then earn gifts and GREEN$ based on how much they recycled. People love free gifts and a chance to earn money so this is a great way to encourage people to recycle. Their recycling is weighed in tons and then based on that the prizes are attached to the card in their name. Another place that is incentivizing is Southern England where they did something similar with a card that they could collect points on. When they put things in the right bins to be recycled and picked up they acquired memberships to nearby clubs, pools, and gyms. This is another really great incentive because people hate paying to go to exclusive clubs, gyms, or pools but if it is offered by recycling and building up points that is brilliant. These are just two great incentives, yes they make things a little harder for the recycling workers because there is more to be collected but we all have to give a little in order to turn this around.
I had no idea that kalamazoo has a recycling incentive program. This blog brings light to that as I am sure it is going to be the first time people may hear about it. I also like how you mentioned the fact that will it even be possible for Exxon mobile to recycle like this on a larger scale.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that we still use the "reduce reuse recycle" slogan now when it dates back to almost the 1970s! Even more interesting is that we still have the same recycling centers in action since then! You're graphic makes me so sad to see how much of the plastic and waste is discarded just by one human. Imagine the billions of units of trash our earth has accumulating in the oceans and forests.
ReplyDeleteI like how you illustrated several strategies for recycling incentives using examples from Southern England, Hong Kong, and Kalamazoo. Exxon Mobile's concept of improved recycling is interesting and it's refreshing to see creative solutions being investigated. You make an excellent point when you say that people need incentives to act morally, and these initiatives can undoubtedly contribute to higher recycling rates.
ReplyDeleteAs a Kalamazoo county resident, I might have to look more into this Kalamazoo incentive program. I like the peek into the world of recycling, as the process is not often discussed. I do know that recycling as we have it right now is complex and definitely not optimized, but it is better than nothing, until we can cut back on single-use plastics as op mentioned. I hope there's continued efforts to improve and optimize our recycling systems in the US.
ReplyDeleteI love how locally incentives for recycling are taking place. Although it may seem selfish of everyday people, things like recycling and taking care of the planet has a higher chance of succeeding if it is convenient and generally a 'no-brainer'. The community can become stronger through team-work and planet saving initiatives that bring people together. The isolationist attempts to become a zero waste household, only bike to destinations, or not utilize air travel is an extreme approach, while large communities can optimize for a less sacrificial impact. Carpooling, recycling as a block, or joining in community center learning opportunities will bring positivity to the movement.
ReplyDeleteThat's really cool that there a plans here in Kalamazoo, and I agree that "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" was a big thing that people said when thinking about trying to save the planet, but it's not really that simple anymore.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very thought provoking post! Several years ago they took away recycling in my area and we ended up just having to dispose of most of our recyclable waste. I appreciate the ideas other places have implemented to try and incentivize recycling!
ReplyDeleteThis makes me think of recycling incentives from the bottle bill in Michigan and 9 other states. I think it would help reduce littering If all states had a bottle bill and more people would feel responsible for returning their empty bottles for money. I really hope this happens in every state and for every container that is made for quick convenience and one time use. Especially the plastic water bottles. Do you think water bottles will ever receive a Bottle Bill?
ReplyDeleteI don't know if we will ever receive a bottle bill however i know that progress is being made. As the article and Lindsay said Kalamazoo recycling increasing by 94 % is something that should be seen in a hopeful light
DeleteA 94% increase in anything is unbelievable so hearing that the recycling for Kalamazoo increased that much after the incentive plan is great. I appreciate people coming up with ways to get the community more involved in recycling. It is such a simple way to help the environment the best we can.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to hear about all the recycling incentives going on, and am curious to learn more about Exxons advanced recycling and the energy that is used to convert the recylables into something new
ReplyDeleteI'm curious, what GREEN$? Is that some kind of liquid credit program where people get cash or some kind of credit for their recycling efforts?
ReplyDeleteI really like how Hong Kong incentivize people to recycle . It is a great way for people to get on board with the recycling. I also think we need to be harder on big companies to recycle too. There is lots of waste produced by shipping and producing goods.
ReplyDeleteHey Abby,
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear that Kalamazoo is working towards making recycling more convenient and accessible to its residents. I know that currently many off campus student housing options do not have established recycling systems making it hard to practice sustainability as a student. Where I live currently our only option for recycling is bringing it to campus or paying to take it to a recycling center. I wish that there were more accessible options in Kalamazoo because I think people, student especially, would be open to recycling more but convinience is too large a factor for them.
I appreciate how you discussed the impact of recycling from a local scale here in Kalamazoo. It is intriguing to me that we have come to a way of life where in order for people to cooperate with actions to reduce climate impact there has to be some sort of incentive in order; where climate change reduction would in turn be the largest rewarding factor on its own.
ReplyDeleteMore of these programs are needed across the country. In my backwards hometown there is no option for recycling at all, and it's very expensive to take care of it yourself by bringing it to a facility, so nobody does it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post and I loved reading it. I have never really thought about incentives when it comes to recycling. My family has been recycling for years and I always try to convince them to do it more. I wonder what a good incentive would be here in the US.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post! I have never thought of how much incentives can make a huge difference in recycling habits. It's so true that convenience and rewards often drive behaviour, it is human nature. What do you think could help bridge the gap between these innovative ideas and widespread adoption of these ideas?
ReplyDeleteYour blog is super inspiring, Abby J! The topic really hits home for me since my country, Indonesia, is ranked as the second-largest contributor to plastic waste in the oceans, as mentioned in this article: Indonesia Ranks Second as the World’s Highest Contributor of Plastic Waste to Oceans. Plastic waste spreading across the oceans, especially between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, is so hard to clean up. But growing up, I learned to care for the environment by collecting plastic waste from home and sending it to recycling banks that turn it into useful items. Thanks for this inspiring post!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you used an example of the incentive program in Kalamazoo to show on a local scale how a difference can be made. I made recycling my New Year's resolution a couple of years ago, and I had no idea how many items I was throwing away were actually recyclable. It just goes to show incentives and spreading awareness do go a long way.
ReplyDeleteThis was an amazing post. I hate that I do not recycle. I know I should, and I always feel guilt when buying the bottled waters from the grocery store but you're totally right! People want convenience and so the things that Hong Kong and England did are genius. I firmly believe that I would pay more attention to it if I were able to use the pool down the road from my house or if I was given some money. It's a terrible thing but that's how we are wired. And the best thing to do is to know ourselves and then combat that with something that will motivate us to recycle.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that Kalamazoo had an incentive program for recycling! It makes me wonder where WMU stands in terms of recycling. While many buildings have sorted recycling bins, I know the dorms have mixed recycling, which I believe has a lower rate of being properly recycled. I also think it is really interesting to read about how other countries approach recycling!
ReplyDeleteReduce, reuse, recycle is certainly an important approach. For some reason when I talk with people about what we can do about climate change, recycling is the answer they often first come up with. And, I suppose, yes, that recycling can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but as an overall solution it seems woefully inadequate.
ReplyDelete