Though the idea of a circular economy, an economy that generates a loop of regeneration and reuse of items, seems like an ideal economy, I don’t know how possible it is right now for us (even though I wish it was). One striking part of this idea is that we will eliminate majority of waste […]
Is A Circular Economy Really Possible? Read More »
Companies often rely on plastic to produce disposable items because it lowers packaging costs and boosts their profit margins. While they benefit economically from plastic use, they rarely take responsibility for the environmental consequences of its production and waste. Instead, the burden of managing plastic waste is shifted onto individual consumers, who are expected to
Companies’ Love-Hate Relationship with Plastic Read More »
Recycling. It’s a word we hear all the time, yet the process behind it frequently remains poorly understood. We throw items into blue bins, with the expectation that they will be given a second life. But what actually happens in this process? Explaining “recycling” requires describing a complicated process, which includes gathering, sorting, processing, and
Personal Reflection on Recycling 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 »
I think that there is a fascinating discussion around the question of where waste is ‘supposed’ to be in relation to this week’s readings, particularly in relation to the social contract often formed by people and governments. The first thing I find fascinating is how long it took for people to not only become upset
Where waste is ‘supposed’ to be Read More »