{"id":1894,"date":"2019-04-15T06:03:21","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T10:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/?p=1894"},"modified":"2019-04-14T15:17:21","modified_gmt":"2019-04-14T19:17:21","slug":"single-use-plastic-why-recycling-is-not-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/2019\/04\/15\/single-use-plastic-why-recycling-is-not-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Single-Use Plastic: Why Recycling is Not Enough"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post was written by Meg Nadeau ’19<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a recent Driving Sustainable Change class, we\nimplemented the methods of Design Thinking to try to answer the difficult\nquestion, \u201cHow might we reduce the consumption of single-use products at UVM?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This is a question I have tried to answer for myself on many occasions: How can I change my behavior so that I can reduce my consumption of single-use products? By single-use products I mean any product designed specifically to be used once, then discarded, simply to be replaced by another single-use product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used to believe that as long as I recycled the plastic I\nwas using, I was doing my part. However, I have realized that recycling is not\nenough. There is a reason why the phrase goes reduce, reuse, and recycle.\nReducing and reusing come before recycling because that is how to make the most\npositive impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recycling is better than not recycling, don\u2019t get me wrong, but the current recycling process has many inefficiencies. First, containers must be clean of contaminants. In a full bin of recycling, items that are not recyclable — contamination — weaken the marketability of that material, and those items wind up in a landfill anyway. If the plastic does end up going to a recycling facility, it takes large amounts of energy and resources to transform it into a product that can be used again. Monitoring and collection, transportation, and the recycling manufacturing process itself all contribute to this energy and resource consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The molecular makeup of plastics makes it very difficult for it to be broken down and transformed back to its original product, like a water bottle being turned back into a water bottle. Instead, recycled plastic is usually used for secondary reprocessing which turns the recycled plastic into a plastic product that cannot be recycled. This repurposing of plastic is better than just throwing it in landfills, but its footprint should not be minimized. There must also be demand for the recycled material for this process to really be effective. Many recycling programs are operating at a cash loss on a regular basis, which is not sustainable for the long-term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what is the solution to this? Recycling used to be seen\nas the solution for all of our waste. But, that is just not enough if we plan\non saving the planet. The real solution is to not create the need to recycle in\nthe first place. Reduce your consumption of single-use plastics, or better yet,\ndon\u2019t use single-use plastic at all. Nobody is perfect, so if you do buy\nplastic try to reuse the item as many times as you can. Get creative with it! How\nmany new uses can you get out of a plastic product? But, since the goal of this\npost is to reduce the consumption of single-use products, I am going to leave\nyou with some tips that have helped me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The Grocery Store: Single-use products are\neverywhere here, from lettuce wrapped in plastic, to eggs in plastic casings,\nto meat packed in plastic bags. Become mindful of your purchases at the grocery\nstore. Start your grocery shopping the right way by remembering to bring your\nown shopping bags- this will set you up for a successful grocery shopping trip\nright from the start! Put your produce in these reusable bags instead of\nputting them into the small plastic produce bags and try to buy produce that is\nnot already wrapped in plastic. Choose cardboard over plastic whenever\npossible. Cardboard is generally easier to recycle and tends to biodegrade more\neasily. So go for the eggs in the cardboard casing, or the pasta in a box\ninstead of in a bag, or detergent in a box instead of a bottle. <\/li>
  2. The Bathroom: Look in your shower and count how\nmany plastic containers are in there. Is there a way you can change your\npurchasing behavior to find products that don\u2019t come in plastic? Can you refill\nglass containers with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash? There are companies,\nlike Lush, that are selling solid shampoos and body washes that do not have to\nbe contained in a bottle at all. Instead of buying disposable razors, try\nswitching to a razor that lets you replace the blade or, even better, get a\nstraight razor. Instead of shaving cream, try coconut oil. And if you really\nwant to commit to a sustainable shaving experience, don\u2019t shave at all! There\nare many alternatives to your plastic toothbrush, as well. Try going with a\nwooden toothbrush, one that you can just throw in the fire when it is time to\nget a new one. While we are on the topic of teeth, have you ever tried tooth\npowder? You can make your own at home with baking powder, salt, and essential\noils for flavoring. You can also buy pre-made tooth powder from brands like\nUncle Harry or Aquarian Bath.<\/li>
  3. The Kitchen: Plastic has inundated our kitchens\nin the form of plastic baggies, plastic wrap, and plastic storage containers. Instead\nof using plastic wrap, use jars or glass containers. There are also some\ninnovative companies, like Bee\u2019s Wrap, that are coming out with reusable food\nstorage solutions. Instead of plastic baggies or plastic containers, why not\nuse a glass or stainless steel bento box? If you\u2019re feeling extra brave, bring\nthese out with you when you know there will be leftovers. Instead of relying on\na restaurant to provide you with a single-use container to-go, complete with a\nplastic bag, opt to put the food in your own container that can be reused over\nand over again. Try switching to wash cloths instead of paper towels. Paper\ntowels come wrapped in plastic and can only be used to clean up one mess. Wash\ncloths can be used over and over again and just get thrown in with the rest of\nthe dirty laundry when they need to be washed. <\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    This post was written by Meg Nadeau ’19 During a recent Driving Sustainable Change class, we implemented the methods of Design Thinking to try to answer the difficult question, \u201cHow might we reduce the consumption of single-use products at UVM?\u201d This is a question I have tried to answer for myself on many occasions: How … <\/p>\n

    Continue reading “Single-Use Plastic: Why Recycling is Not Enough”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4489,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[221,26,425622],"tags":[4433],"class_list":["post-1894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-environment","category-learning","category-renewables","tag-sustainability"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8b9n0-uy","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1894"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1899,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1894\/revisions\/1899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}