Recycle or die!

Green is in. Recycle. Upcycle. Carbon footprint, Eco-friendly....words that you better have integrated into your lexicon if not your lifestyle. There is no faster way to get shunned by your friends and colleagues than by making the grave mistake of dumping a Coke can into the non-recycle bin. Do you clean your plastic material before you put it in the bin? Do you separate newsprint from other printed material? Do you place used batteries in a Ziploc? What about understanding the number code printed inside a triangle on all plastic products?

The pressure to understand your garbage has never been greater. Something does not seem right here. Sure I understand the rationale behind sorting my garbage but is this really making a difference? What's the cost of recycling a piece of garbage over making it from scratch? I understand that recycling is good for the earth and all that but if the earth's future depends on people like me knowing if Styrofoam should be in the recycle bin or not then we have a problem.

I think the green movement has been great for raising awareness about the cost of manufacturing and the damage it can do to the environment but I think the pressure to go green should be borne by the manufacturing industry and not the consumer. Would it not be great if every product came in a bio-degradable package? Why are consumers like me and you shouldering the guilt of polluting the earth when its the products we use that need to change. I see people seeking out "green" products because they want to do their bit for the environment. Good for them but what about folks who cannot afford the more expensive "green" option? "Green" has become a buzz word, a gimmick. Every company out there is trying to attach a "green" label to their product. It's all a little suspicious when your local gas station claims to have gone green!

Don't get me wrong. I care about the planet as much as anybody out there. I just hope that the earth's future is not dependant on me buying a hybrid or or meticulously sorting my garbage. I do not claim to understand every nuance of the green revolution. What I do know is that this battle is about money. The big industries need to change their ways. But doing so costs them money (and in turn costs us, the consumer, money). The motivation to change will have to come by way of government incentives /arm twisting. No amount of shoppers using paper bags is going to help if the real problem is not fixed.