Bottle It

5 Responses to “Bottle It”

1. Rob Girard on March 22nd, 2009 9:00 am

   Kris - recycling seems to be both a responsible practice from AND an unfortunate by product of our consumer-driven society. It bothers me to no end that the success of our economy actually depends on me (and millions like me) being a ‘good consumer’, and doing nothing but ‘buy, buy, buy’.

   Would the recycling industry even exist in its present form if, intead of an economy based on unrestrained growth and consumption, it was based on sustainable lifestyles and practices? I doubt it.

2. Rob on April 4th, 2009 10:05 pm

   How will it feel to tell our great grandchildren:

   “We’re sorry. We used up all that precious, high energy, fossil fuel to make plastic bottles and throwaway packaging for convenience and so we wouldn’t have to spend time fussing with nasty messes and have more leisure time in our lives.”

   When you total up the figures on ubiquitous, commonplace, every day items, it just becomes horrifying, doesn’t it?

   So why, exactly, did glass containers to out of vogue?

3. Prof. Charles Nuckolls on April 21st, 2009 8:42 pm

   How about a show on Ecovillage at Ithaca, a sustainable community based on cohousing principles?

4. Andrew on May 27th, 2009 4:16 pm

   Excellent questions!

   My city just introduced recycling pick-ups at residences (except for condos and apartments - go figure) and I changed my mind immediately about recycling.

   I don’t support it anymore! When I had to drive, cycle, or carry it to a centralized bin system, it seemed more acceptable to me - especially when there were two local facilities that re-manufactured plastics.

   Now when I see the hundreds of recycling containers up and down the roads on garbage day, and consider the costs for all the new specialized containers, and specialized trucks for picking up the materials, and the fact that the material is shipped to remote facilities for sorting and re-manufacturing - I think “Stop this clown show!”

   Recycling is to modern cities as circuses were to Rome - a feel good diversion. It allows us to duck the question of consuming less and consuming local.

   And don’t forget the irrational push against plastic bags! I used cloth ones or my pack for years - but now everyone can have their “feel good” moment by using a new store-bought fabric shopping bag to head in their SUV to the mall to consume.

5. Hamish on July 5th, 2009 1:03 am

   Oh how I wish you lived in Australia - I think you are the best! I would love to meet you in person! Take care H.

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