Stop recycling
And other Earth Day thoughts.
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Happy Earth Day! It’s Friday, which means we’re giving you a three-minute take on a big climate story from the week. This morning, that story takes us to the end of the driveway.
Three years ago, right before I left my job in Cincinnati for my first environmental job in D.C., a colleague asked me what they could do to be “greener.” I said to recycle more.
Oof.
At that point, climate red flags — cars, meat, and even lawns — were so baked into my life that I just assumed the best option to go green was the easiest option. And I felt justified saying that.
After all, biking to work was dangerous. The city’s vegan options were limited. And single-family homes were checkered across the Ohio Valley, as common as a Reds losing streak.
Meanwhile, anyone can easily recycle. Problem solved!
But recycling is what writer David Wallace-Wells would call a “climate red herring,” a well-intentioned action that nonetheless distracts us from the bigger, broader threat of climate change.
For example, we can point to all the recycling we’re doing, or all the plastic straws we’re not using, or all the reusable bags we’re bringing to the store, while ignoring our large suburban house with our gas-powered SUV in the driveway.
The truth is that recycling does little if anything for the ol’ carbon footprint. In fact, it can even be worse for your carbon footprint than not recycling. Should you have to drive to the recycling center, for example, you may emit more CO2 than you’re saving by recycling.
(If you want some pretty shoddy back-of-the-envelope math: In my first draft, I calculated how far you could drive the equivalent of 100 plastic bottles while still breaking even.)
The bottom line is that recycling can take a lot of time and energy, which makes it an ideal climate red herring. I mean, all that work to save, separate, and drop off plastics — it sure feels green! But it can distract us from what really needs to be done.
So, what does it mean to actually go green? It’s a topic I try to explore every week, and one that’s especially relevant on Earth Day, when people reexamine their own actions and companies try to flex their green credentials.
It might be best to turn to the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shows us how to attain a livable future. Though the report does discuss behavioral change, it mostly emphasizes structural and cultural change.
In other words, we have to go beyond individual actions. So, of course, given the option between a landfill and recycling plant, people should still recycle. But we can do much more.
Let’s end with Cincinnati, a perfect test study for this kind of structural change. As a typical Midwestern city, Cincinnati has sprawling suburbs that incentivize individual car ownership, making it near impossible to get by without one; however, it doesn't need to be that way.
For example, how would the city look with a more compact design? With less parking lots and more bus bays? With a light rail that goes beyond downtown? With protected bike lanes that span major roads?
These aren’t changes one person can do by themselves, but they’re conversations anyone can have. And climate red herrings like recycling can't be our reason for avoiding them.