The Impact of Recycling on Global Warming

Michael French

Introduction

So you recycle, you have a compost pile in the backyard and you buy organic produce. But you still feel helpless when you hear two words: global warming. Americans alone produce 20 percent of the world’s output of greenhouse gasses. Each American produces about 40,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. The good news is that the future of global climate change is not only in the hands of reluctant governments and multinational corporations. When you bring reusable bags to the grocery store, choose not to buy a piece of fruit out of season, or choose a compact fluorescent bulb over an incandescent one, you’re helping cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, and you’re making your voice heard.

Do I really need it?

In grocery stores and malls we have so many choices, endless varieties-a consumer utopia? Not quite. The average American consumes 20 times the resources as a person living in a less-developed country, and Americans use more than one-fourth the world’s resources. If you’re reading this magazine you probably understand the consequences of over and simply isn’t supported by s Nevertheless, consumption. But the habit is to break society through conscious shopping, you reject at least some of the notions of our consumer-based society and help reduce global warming.Ask yourself if the product is something that satisfies real needs. For any non-fooditem, evaluate the product based on how many uses it win survive. You might pay more for products that will last a decade ... or a lifetime. But by keeping a product for a long time, you help cut the demand for new products, which leads to greater environmental consequences.

Each item you throw away represents more than the waste of the product itself-it represents the use of energy and emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses. If you cut down on garbage production by 25 percent, it would save 1,000 pounds in carbon dioxide emissions annually, because the largest sources of anthropogenic methane production in the United States are landfills.

What is it made of?

When choosing goods, consider the life span of the product. Did its manufacture require energy-intensive extraction and refinement? Is it easily recycled? How far was it transported? What about the packaging?

Disposable packaging, particularly plastic, represents an enormous source of greenhouse gasses production. The United States uses nearly one billion barrels of oil to produce enough plastic to meet American demands each year. That’s 200 pounds per person. Sixty percent of the plastic goes to packaging each year, 60 pounds of which is thrown away immediately after packaging is opened.

Whether transported by ship, tail, airplane or truck, the transportation of goods emits carbon dioxide. A product made overseas is obviously transported over long distances, creating more pollution and carbon dioxide emissions than a product made in your community. Buy locally or regionally produced goods when possible. Specialty "green" retail shops and natural foods stores carry many items designed to have fewer environmental impacts. Even if you don’t live near such stores, you can do almost as well when you consider the life of each product, wherever it’s purchased.

Keep in mind the effects of these common products:

Glass

Glass packaging is easily recycled, making less energy intensive than the usual alternative plastic. Every ton of glass recycled gallons of oil from being consumed. While many non-disposable glass products like kitchen ware cannot be recycled, they are made from an abundant natural mineral-silica. Some natural food stores sell milk in returnable glass bottles. You can cut down on your consumption of glass by washing and reusing jars and bottles. I’ve us the same e peanut butter jar several times by refilling it with freshground peanut butter at a local natural foods store. Glass jars are also great for storing all kinds of things, like nails in the workshop or dried herbs in the kitchen.

Plastic

Plastics are made from a resource not generally known for being environmentally friendly: petroleum. If that isn’t enough to scare you, consider that packaging accounts for one third of all landfill space. More than half that packaging is plastic. While some plastics are readily recyclable (those labeled "1" and "2"), many are not. Plastics are used for an ever in increasing variety of disposable as well as durable goods. Plastics are inexpensive to produce are versatile. But tremendous energy inputs go into making plastics, and they break down slowly.

When grocery shopping, try to avoid plastics, especially "squeezable" bottles that are made of multi-layered plastic and cannot be recycled, Polystyrene (Styrofoam) is another nonrecycleable product. Bring your own cloth bags (often sold for about $5.00 each at natural food stores), so you don’t have to chose between paper or plastic. You’ll also get between two and five cents back per bag at most stores. You might also try reusing plastic bread bags to buy bulk foods the next time you shop.

Avoid disposable cameras. Again, the price of convenience is high.

Wood and paper

For every tree cut down, the atmosphere loses another carbon-trapping "sink." That’s not good for global warming. Tropical rainforests are a significant carbon dioxide sink that is being rapidly destroyed. Over two-thirds of the timber shipped from the Amazon comes to the United States. Demand for the wood is so great that even preserves are being illegally logged to meet demand. When you must buy wood, avoid tropical woods, especially mahogany. I play it safe and try not to buy wood products from tropical countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Brazil.

Metal

For non-food purchases, the durability of most metal products gives them an advantage over other materials. Although metals must be mined and processed at considerable energy expense, common metals like aluminum, copper and steel are easily recycled, representing energy savings.

Be wary of food products packaged in metal for convenience. The ubiquitous soda can, for instance, accounts for nearly 5 percent of household waste in some regions of the United States. ‘Me good news is recycling aluminum cuts air pollution by 95 percent over processing it from raw materials.

Examples of how to shop to reduce global warming:

Food

Perhaps the greatest opportunity for cutting global warming gasses through everyday purchases comes with food. Where and how food is grown and processed have a big impact on greenhouse gasses produced. Consider cutting back or eliminating your purchases of beef. Beef production amounts to the equivalent of 1 gallon of gasoline in energy use for every pound produced; cows produce 100 million tons of methane annually; and 220 million acres of land have been deforested for livestock production in the United States alone. Rice paddies also emit much methane, so cutting back on rice purchases helps.

When possible, buy locally grown produce, direct from farmers. Support local bakeries. Avoid out-of-season fruits and vegetables that must be shipped in from the southern hemisphere. I’ve often given in to the temptation of buying what seems like beautiful, harmless fruit out-of-season. It wasn’t until I bought a tomato (in the winter) that had a sticker saying it was grown in a hothouse-in the European Union-that I really stopped to think about the consequences.

Buy less-processed foods. Convenience has its price: the Earth.

Think critically about the amount and type of packaging food comes in. The City of Portland’s energy office estimates that each American could cut down on carbon dioxide emissions by 230 pounds per year by purchasing products with reusable or recyclable packaging instead of disposable packaging. Don’t support manufacturers that wrap items in multiple layers of packaging when one layer is enough.

Kitchen & bath

The typical American kitchen is a showcase of an array caustic chemicals and energyintensive disposable products, from paper napkins to plastic sponges. Cloth towels and napkins can be used hundreds of times. Each member of my household has a different colored cloth napkin, which we each wash as needed. Cloth towels work better than paper ones, and you can use them for rags after they’ve worn out. Natural cellulose or loofah sponges are biodegradable and more sustainable alternatives to plastic ones. Metal coffee filters never need replacing.

Solvents and cleaning products produce more than 36 percent of the ozone depleting substances in the United States annually. In addition, many cleaning supplies come plastic bottles. Many of these products can be replaced in the home through various mixtures of vinegar, baking soda, water and plain soap. A good general-purpose cleaner simply one teaspoon liquid soap mixed with one quart of water. Baking soda with water works well as a tile cleaner. See Clean and Green. The Complete Guide to Nontoxic and Environmentally Safe Household Cleaning (Annie Berthold-Bond, Woodstock, NY: Ceres Press, 1990) for recipes. Remember to buy the ingredients in recycleable containers.

The bathroom is another source of scores of disposable products. Vinyl, plastic and nylon shower curtains can be replaced by glass enclosures, which never need replacing, or cotton. Recycled bath tissue is now readily available.

Clothing

Used clothing has already been produced, transported, used and discarded. Think of the resources you save by purchasing used. When you must buy new, buy timeless, durable clothing made of natural or recycled materials. Most synthetic fabrics such as polyester are made from petroleum. Question everything: What is the source of rubber for the soles of your shoes? Are they re-soleable? What about accessories, jewelry, sunglasses, even watches. I wear a vintage 1950s Swiss watch that never needs a battery-or winding. It keeps perfect time. The price: $2.00 at a garage sale. Most watches are not made to last and use heavymetal batteries.

Home

Most of us want a comfortable home. I do. But many of the comforts we choose to accept unquestioningly have hidden costs.

Home energy use is one way each of us can really make a difference. Do we really need so many lights on at night? For those lights you can’t eliminate, consider using compact fluorescent bulbs. By replacing each incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent one, you reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 500 pounds per year. A compact fluorescent has the added benefit of lasting 7,500 to 10,000 hours versus only 750-1,000 hours for an incandescent bulb.

Home carpeting is made almost exclusively of petroleum products. Tile, brick, stone or wood are permanent alternatives. Natural linoleum is biodegradable.

Bedding is another source of high-impact, fossil-fuel dependent manufacturing. Traditional mattresses are made of synthetic petroleum products, which can also emit sleepdisrupting chemicals. Futons, made from cotton or wool, require less energy to produce and will break down. For the same reasons, consider buying sheets and blankets made of all natural materials. I find all-cotton sheets more comfortable than cotton-polyester blend. Wool blankets and cotton quilts offer plenty of warmth.

Personal care

Again, try to think about all steps involved in bringing the product to the store shelf materials, manufacturing processes, transportation and recycleability. The simpler the product, the better. Consider these alternatives: refillable razors instead of disposable ones; organically grown herbal shampoos in refillable containers; for deodorant, baking soda in paper-fiber packaging; non-endangered wood and natural bristle tooth and hair brushes instead of plastic non-biodegradable ones.

Office supplies

Paper consumes trees, which are valuable carbon sinks. Tree-free paper made of kenaf, jute, hemp and cereal straw and cotton, and recycled papers, are viable alternatives.

Consider using a refillable fountain pen. Ink comes in recycleable glass jars which last for months. I’ve found my fountain pen also make writing a joy.

Major purchases

Although not usually the subject of impulse buying or day-to-day purchases, our selection of major items Eke cars and appliances can have a tremendous effect on the condition of our Consider long-term operating costs, efficiency, durability, and of course, the source of the materials, manufacturing processes, transportation and recycleability.

Many appliances, such as computers, TV and VCRs, and washing machines are becoming available in energy efficient models. Look for the Energy Star logo on computers, TVs and VCRs. These products are manufactured in accordance with EPA requirements and meet energy-efficiency standards. A directory of Energy Star TVs and VCRs is available from the EPA at http://www.gRa/gov/Mdstar/tv-vcr/list.htmI

When purchasing a car, keep in mind that a fuel-efficient model, with 32 or more miles to the gallon, saves 5,600 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Although production of ozone-depleting CFCs has been banned in the United States since 1995, stockpiles of CFCs are still being used. If purchasing a new car or car made since 1992, look for CFC-free air conditioners. All vehicles made before 1992 use CFCs in air conditioners. The type of refrigerant is labeled on the air conditioning compressor or elsewhere in the engine compartment.

Conclusion

So next time you’re tempted to buy that shiny New Zealand apple or juice packaged in an aluminum can, take a minute to think about true costs of those products. Your choices do make a difference. We can transform our over-consumptive society-one purchase at a time.

Below are some mail-order vendors who carry green products you might not find at ordinary stores.

General merchandise vendors

References

City of Portland Energy Office, "Top 10 things you can do to prevent global warming," found at United States Environmental Protection Agency WebPage, http://www.epa.gov

Dadd-Redalia, Debra, Sustaining the Earth: Choosing Consumer Products that are Safe for You Your Family and the Earth , Hearst Books, New York, NY, 1994.

Earth Works Group, The 50 Simple Things You Can do to Save the Earth, Earthworks Press, Berkeley, Calif, 1989.

Environmental Defense Fund, "20 Simple Steps to Reduce Global Warming,"

http://www.edf.org/Want2Helpb_gw.20steps. html

Karpinsky, Gene "Shopping as if the Earth Matters" in Green Lifestyle Handbook (Jeremy Frifkin, ed.) Henry Holt and Company, New York, NY, 1990.

Hayes, Randall "U.S. could help save mahogany forests," The Phoenix Gazette Jan. 8, 1997, p. B4.

"How green are you? Here’s how you can find out," Consumer Reports, Nov. 1994, pp. 725-729.

Long, William R. "Environmentalists urge shift in U.S. consumption," The Los Angeles Times, Jan. 23, 1994, page Al 4.

Robbins, John Diet for a New America, Stillpoint Publishing, Walpole, N.H., 1987