Episode 89
[FOCUS] Myth 5 and 6 (Recycling Plastic Helps Solve Climate Change?!!?)
Episode Summary: This episode is an excerpt from a past episode on Myths about climate change (plastics recycling)
Jenn and Imma talked about another myth about climate change: ‘Recycling plastic helps solve climate change’! No, it doesn’t! It’s a myth!!!
Often brands use pictograms to indicate that a product/package can be recycled, while on the face of them, say they recycle, don’t recycle at all, and on average, only 20% of filed recycling actually gets recycled.
Figures as low as 9% have been published.
Often the separation of plastics, tins and paper in our homes is then just collected together with general household waste.
They discussed different projects designed to overcome this and how some companies and areas of the world are starting to take note. Avoiding the use of plastic is one of the most effective ways of reducing plastic waste.
For more information on the project, and to order your copy of the Carbon Almanac, visit thecarbonalmanac.org
Listen to the Myths 5 and 6 about climate change
For more information on the project and to order your copy of the Carbon Almanac, visit thecarbonalmanac.org
Want to join in the conversation?
Visit thecarbonalmanac.org/podcasts and send us a voice message on this episode or any other climate-related ideas and perspectives.
Don’t Take Our Word For It, Look It Up!
You can find out more on pages 32 and 33 of the Carbon Almanac and on the website you can tap the footnotes link and type in 342.
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Featuring Carbon Almanac Contributors Jenn Swanson and Inma Lopez
From Langley in British Columbia, Canada, Jenn is a Minister, Coach, Writer and Community Connector, helping people help themselves.
Imma is from Cádiz in the South of Spain, living in Aberdeen, Scotland. Imma is a sommelier, a poet, a podcaster, a mother, a slow food advocate, and an animist activist.
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The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater.
Transcript
Hi, I'm done today.
Speaker:We're gonna talk about another climate change myth and the myth
Speaker:is that recycling plastic helps.
Speaker:Yeah, that's that's a big.
Speaker:Meth.
Speaker:, it's, it's a really big meth.
Speaker:And I think, I think because you could throw it in the recycling bin, it gives
Speaker:us permission to continue to use it.
Speaker:Mm-hmm yeah, that that's, that is a dangerous myth, actually,
Speaker:because the best we can do.
Speaker:With plastic, it just not use it.
Speaker:Mm-hmm well, part of the problem is that it doesn't actually get recycled.
Speaker:A lot of places don't even separate the plastic litter from regular litter.
Speaker:trash litter, garbage, whatever word you wanna use.
Speaker:And.
Speaker:In the Netherlands, for example, they, they don't separate it at all.
Speaker:And I know that sometimes you've got a series of bins.
Speaker:You've got the recycling for plastic, you've got garbage or trash and you've
Speaker:got, um, glass, paper or paper and.
Speaker:and people take time to separate it and throw it in there.
Speaker:And then they come along and mix it all together again.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:And just throw it in the garbage.
Speaker:So it doesn't actually get to the recycling all the time.
Speaker:Sometimes it does, but it doesn't happen as often as we expect it to happen.
Speaker:I.
Speaker:No, no, it doesn't.
Speaker:I think, I think the numbers were globally were like at 20%
Speaker:mm-hmm so it's very, very little.
Speaker:And actually there is.
Speaker:Treaty going on and I'm not quite sure if it's already, uh, approved,
Speaker:but it's a treaty about making responsible the companies mm-hmm
Speaker:for using, for using, uh, plastic mm-hmm to prevent that to happen.
Speaker:Yeah, where I live.
Speaker:Um, in Vancouver, they've in Canada, they have just banned
Speaker:single use plastics in the city.
Speaker:So you can't take have a takeout cup unless you pay extra.
Speaker:And there are things that they're not allowing.
Speaker:So plastic bags and, um, forks and knives and spoons, and those
Speaker:things, um, are not supposed to be given out automatically anymore.
Speaker:When you.
Speaker:Take out, uh, from the restaurants.
Speaker:So, um, that's, that's a step in the right direction.
Speaker:Yeah, mm-hmm yeah, I think, I think one action, obviously the first action
Speaker:for me individual is just not to use it.
Speaker:Mm-hmm , which is a really difficult action because I did that three years ago.
Speaker:My whole year plastic use can be.
Speaker:Contain in a jar that is, uh, a little, a little and a half.
Speaker:Wow, good for, for you.
Speaker:but it has taken me two years to get to there.
Speaker:And that decision took me to change a lot of things in my life.
Speaker:It's very difficult and we try very hard.
Speaker:Also.
Speaker:I always, you know, have a reusable water bottle and I have bamboo cutlery
Speaker:in my bag that I take with me if I'm going somewhere and we have glass
Speaker:containers and jars that we freeze things in and we try very, very hard.
Speaker:There are some things that you cannot buy unless they come in a plastic.
Speaker:So we have, there's a special recycling place that we save all the plastic.
Speaker:Up and drive it to the recycling place where we know it's actually
Speaker:going to get recycled, but that's still not the best solution.
Speaker:It would be better not to use it in the first place.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So a as, as an individual action, we are giving you all the clues,
Speaker:not using plastic anymore.
Speaker:Mm-hmm less and less than never.
Speaker:if that possible single use plastic.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That is just something is against me personally.
Speaker:mm-hmm and secondly, recycled to get it to.
Speaker:Places where, you know, uh, are gonna be, is gonna be recycled and
Speaker:third, join this, this treaties.
Speaker:With your signature to get the whole world to be accountable for,
Speaker:for the production of, of plastic?
Speaker:I think so there are, there are some grocery stores that are going
Speaker:to zero waste, um, especially in Europe, not so much over here in north
Speaker:America, but there we have one or two where you have to bring in your
Speaker:own jars and you, you refill things.
Speaker:So we have re refillers where you can, um, you.
Speaker:Take your jars in and get your soap, uh, or get, you know, the things and then,
Speaker:and then go back and refill them again.
Speaker:And those are excellent, but there's not enough of them.
Speaker:And yeah, and they're, they're more expensive right now than.
Speaker:Which shouldn't be, which they shouldn't be, but because they're not using
Speaker:containers, but if we had more and more of these, then we could hopefully
Speaker:really reduce the, uh, the plastic.
Speaker:So I agree.
Speaker:Uh, we can all do our part and, uh, and write letters and sign
Speaker:petitions and, uh, yes, work on it.
Speaker:A funny, a funny anecdote.
Speaker:I would love you to see the face of my butcher when I went the first
Speaker:time with a container . But Hey, the people who were there with me, uh,
Speaker:shopping, they all realized that, oh, that's not a bad idea, actually.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:There's a sushi place.
Speaker:Not too far from us where we can take in our own containers and they'll put the.
Speaker:The sushi in and there's a fish market where they invite you to bring your own?
Speaker:Um, yes.
Speaker:So I think more and more organizations are thinking this
Speaker:way and it saves them money too.
Speaker:exactly saves their plan.
Speaker:Save money.
Speaker:It is just, it's a win-win.
Speaker:It's a win-win
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