A major issue with the recycling system is that most of the items recycled (with or without the special recycling arrow symbol) end up returned in the landfill or as other waste. Despite this, many people do not realize this and continue to recycle and assume that it is something that is actually environmentally beneficial. […]
Recycling or Redirection Read More »
This week’s work was quite illuminating in terms of discovering how recycling works on a practical level. However, it has many fatal flaws that prevent it from being as effective as we’d hope or assume it would be in our collective subconscious. There are plenty of examples that illustrate this point. The first is that
the importance of words and how to rethink (plastics)recycling Read More »
Thinking about waste through the lens of ‘distancing’ and ‘recycling’ has made me realize just how easy it is to detach ourselves from the consequences of what we throw away. Before taking this class, I never really thought about what was happening to waste after being put in a bin. Recycling is for many ‘convenient’
The Illusion of Recycling Read More »
Questions for this week: What political functions do waste infrastructures serve? How does ‘distancing’ function? Do we accept this general argument? What actually happens with ‘recycling?’ Can recycling ever deliver on its promises? How have policies enacted by China in the last few years affected the global waste/recycling trade? Readings:
Distancing and recycling Read More »