It seems as though recycling is wrongly regarded as the Cinderella in today’s modern environmental fairy tale.
And, unfortunately, while recycling soaks up the green triangle’s reduce-reuse-recycle spotlight, the other two actions are swept aside as the unwanted, ugly stepsisters.
We need to take a step back before celebrating our glories in those big blue recycle bins.
While it’s great that an institution like UCLA boasts a wide array of recycling centers for paper, plastic and other materials, the big first step in eliminating unnecessary waste and pollution is preventing it.
“I believe we should reduce, reuse, recycle, in that order specifically,” said Robert Gilbert, the sustainability coordinator for UCLA housing and hospitality. “The less stuff you use, the less energy it consumes.”
Herein lies the big challenge for Bruin consumers to push themselves out of their comfort zone.
It’s easy to continue to purchase disposable products with a sound mind when one plans to recycle it, but it actually takes some premeditated effort to reduce the initial amount of waste.
“If you’re planning on buying something, ask yourself if you really need it,” said Hayley Moller, a second-year environmental science student and member of the Education for Sustainable Living Program. “Nowadays, we’re so addicted to consumerism, and we need to be wary of ourselves as consumers in order to reduce waste.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, between 1960 and 2006, the amount of waste each person creates has risen from 2.7 to 4.4 pounds per day.
Statistics like these were highly emphasized during our elementary school days.
I personally recall distinct memories of cartoon commercials where characters sang and danced about “The Three R’s,” as they were fondly looked upon by an anthropomorphic Mother Nature.
But somewhere along the way, the message was lost.
We sold out (or cashed in) to consumerism and figured we could continue to indulge in our material goodness, just as long as we crossed our hearts and promised to toss our accumulated debris into a recycling bin at the end of the day.
UCLA Housing is currently making the effort to educate its residents about living green by introducing a new sustainability-themed floor in Sproul Hall.
According to Bridget Le Loup, resident director of Hedrick Summit, the Office of Residential Life is in the process of creating a student committee to accompany faculty efforts for behavioral environmental changes.
These changes would involve thinking of different ways to reduce excess consumption and waste, including elimination of plastic trays in the dining halls.
Sometimes it takes a forced reminder in order to get our priorities straight, which is exactly what Swedish-owned furniture chain Ikea did last year.
Ikea began charging its customers five cents per disposable plastic bag and encouraged consumers to purchase their more durable, reusable blue shopping bags.
Just by printing the total costs of the disposable bags on the consumers’ receipts, Ikea has economically prompted people to think toward a more environmental path.
In 2006, Ikea gave away 70 million bags in the United States and hoped to cut that number in half with this new program.
But cash incentives shouldn’t be our only reminder to reduce our everyday waste.
Last month, the Los Angeles Times’ environmental blog, Greenspace, discussed how the tonnage of plastic and other debris in the ocean is still a continuing problem ““ one that will most likely get worse throughout the decades.
It’s unfortunate that this piece of information didn’t receive the type of press it deserves, and this is perhaps due to the fact that the tried-and-true antilitter campaigns seem like a thing of the past.
Without constant warnings of oceanic debris’ doom and gloom, regular beach-cleanup trips, or mind-numbing images of baby seals entangled in “ghost nets” or other plastic fishing gear, the waste-reduction campaign becomes obsolete and forgotten.
But we shouldn’t rely on the enforced (though commendable) decisions of big corporations, nor should we walk around with a free conscience simply because we aren’t bombarded by daily, guilt-inducing reminders.
The problem of waste reduction is a big one that can be solved with baby steps, and in reality, it’s a simple process of making smart choices.
Still looking for a beach cleanup? E-mail Chung at lchung@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.