I often hear jaded Americans argue that the reason we do not recycle enough is because Americans do not care. America, above all other nations, is just plain lazy. I probably would have been inclined to agree with this sentiment before I had spent any extended amount of time out of this country. Now I wonder if we are being too hard on ourselves.
When I am walking down the street with the empty container of my recently finished, delicious beverage, and I see a recycling can that just happens to be accepting the exact kind of container I am holding, of course I am going to recycle that bottle or can. What is my alternative? To walk around looking for a trash can not meant for recycled materials'or better yet, a recycling receptacle that specifically takes only paper. Such an option is not favorable to be sure, but it certainly is not a product of laziness. Granted, there are people in America that, if given that situation in reverse, would probably throw away their bottles or cans in a regular trash can if that happened to be the first can they saw. I cannot deny the laziness in such an action. Yet I still believe there is a better way to solve this problem than to tell Americans to stop being lazy.
The way I see it, no one is against recycling. Oh yeah
I hate the earth. We should probably use up its resources and contaminate it in all ways possible as quickly as possible. No one says or thinks these things outside of ridiculous action movies. So why don't Americans recycle more? I think it is because our country has yet to put into place an efficient system for it.
Upon arrival in Japan, one of the first things I noticed was the recycling system. Wherever I found one recycling receptacle, I found at least four more: glass, plastic bottles, steel cans, and aluminum cans. What is more is that I never saw just a trash can, either. There were always two trash cans: one for burnable waste and one for non-burnable waste. Count all those up, and every time I had something to throw away, I had six options neatly placed in one easy location. There was no running around, searching for the receptacle that perfectly fit my trash needs. Although, if I wanted to skip past the row of waste and recycling cans, I would have come across another in five minutes, no matter which direction I would have taken.
Such a system actually makes it easier to recycle than not to recycle. No one wants to be that guy standing next to a recycling container for cans who purposely throws his aluminum can into a trash receptacle. Well, I suppose there are some people who want to be that guy, but then I would say that is not a problem with Americans so much as a personal issue.
I think that recycling issues in America stem less from our being lazy and more from the fact that we simply are victims of our surroundings. America does not have recycling bins of every variety available in all locations, so realistically we can only expect the average American to recycle a minimal amount of his or her used goods. I am not saying the government has the funds right now to dedicate to a better recycling system. However, I think that until the government does provide a more convenient recycling system, we should maybe get off our own backs a little bit.
Jennifer Musser is a senior journalism major. Send her an e-mail at jm206004@ohiou.edu.
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Jennifer Musser
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