Kickstand

True or False? Recycling is good for the environment? When we ask people this question, the resounding answer is True. But from our perspective, and not many people say this, recycling is actually bad. Let me explain.

We’re down on recycling for two reasons. 1) In the US, less than 30% of what could be recycled is actually recycled. That means the rest heads to the landfill. Because, 2) recycling provides personal justification for hard to break comfort and convenience habits especially as it relates to food items (plastic bottles make up about 50% of recyclable waste in landfills)—even among people that view themselves as die hard greenies.

We know from 1,000s of hours of 100s of consumer interviews that people are going to do what is easy, obvious, and convenient. That personal habit and comfort usually trumps making changes in their lives that they cannot immediately see the results of. We also know that consumers don’t have a firm grasp on what they throw out everyday or what really happens to it.

Now, we’re of course not saying to stop recycling. We hear all the time from consumers that recycling is one of the first steps that they take when they decide to live a little greener. For us, the lack of mainstream consumer attention paid to the other 2Rs (the Reduce and Reuse part of the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle hierarchy) makes it clear that the lever pullers out there need to find better ways to dispose of waste, create better packaging, and do a better job of telling their stories because consumers aren’t going to give up convenience and comfort. So, who is in charge of making the change?

Luckily, there are a lot of smart companies out there leading the way. In our society, these are the folks with the power. Consumers tell us all the time that they want companies to lead and show us over and over that they reward companies for doing the right thing.

Can you see the opportunity through the waste?