Check your lifestyle before bragging about recycling
Last week I was invited to the home of a friend of a friend. When they found out I’d written a book on greener living, they suddenly began telling me what great recyclers they are…I guess to distract me from the two SUVs in the garage, the pantry full of bottled water and the odor of bleach-infused household cleaners in the air.
I hear the “We’re avid recyclers” speech a lot actually. People who are acquainted with me and my work can get very insecure about their lifestyles when I’m around. The less earth-conscious their apparent lifestyle choices, the more amazing they make themselves sound in the area of recycling. My reaction is always to politely smile and acknowledge their efforts, but on the inside I’m a little embarrassed for them. Do they really think they are fooling anyone–or worse yet, is it possible they are fooling themselves? Recycling is great–don’t get me wrong–but it’s only one small thing among hundreds that individuals can do to help the planet; so when it’s all anyone is doing, bragging about it is lame.
I know that not everyone can be model environmental stewards, but I also know that everyone, no matter what their circumstances, is quite capable of leading a more exemplary eco-conscious lifestyle than the one they live today. And such a lifestyle includes more than recycling. It demands making corrections wherever choices are wasteful, toxic and excessive.
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I WISH I could send this to about half a dozen of my friends who think that their wasteful lifestyle should be excused because their recycling bin is full. It’s infuriating!
Comment by louise_k — December 9, 2010 @ 9:33 pm