The myth of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Why only mass action can curb the climate crissis
«Exhortations to adopt the ‘Three Rs’ and ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ have become emblematic of an individualised response to environmental challenges. With such an approach, it is assumed that the sensible personal lifestyles that may be adopted by consumers can take us towards sustainability, without bothering too much about how production is organised or the social and economic system under which we live.
[…]
Circle Economy can propose rational and necessary solutions but, for them to be put into effect, the controlling power of environmentally destructive companies and the governments that enable them has to be challenged and defeated. The above-mentioned report is but one indication of how vital and pressing this task is.
[…]
A statement issued by Earth Day in 2023 notes that ‘plastic consumption has quadrupled in the past 30 years and is expected to triple in the next 30. Meanwhile, global plastic recycling rates have failed to reach two digits. Less than 10% of all the plastic ever produced has been recycled.’
[…] it suggests that fossil fuel companies have simply used the promise of recycling as way of covering their tracks and avoiding efforts to control their activities.
The statement notes that ‘Big Oil was aware that recycling was not a realistic solution back in 1974, when an industry insider revealed there was no economically viable way to recycle most plastics.’»