If you want to reduce your impact, just use what you already have.
In most cases, the solutions to environmental problems are not the most romantic or the ones that make us feel the best. On the contrary, they are the ones that understand human behavior and use the profit motive and incentives as tools to motivate people to make responsible use and disposal.
The government is responsible for waste management and the actions taken in countries such as Switzerland, Canada and the Netherlands are examples of a commitment to the planet. Switzerland, for example, places garbage cans everywhere, especially in busy areas such as supermarkets. In addition, those who throw away non-recyclable garbage pay and break the law, while recycling is free and mandatory. Even the recycling tax on glass, textiles, plastic, light bulbs, paper, aluminum, tinplate, among others, has been eliminated.
In Mexico we are still far from achieving these results in terms of waste management, and even in recent years, decisions have been made that delay our progress in this area. An example of this is the ban on the use of certain plastic items, which forces us to replace them with potentially more polluting materials.
Plastic grocery bags were NEVER for single use, in fact, according to INEGI figures, they are the most reused product in Mexico. By eliminating them, sales of more expensive plastic garbage bags increased, making waste disposal and separation more expensive, especially for the poorest.
Most of the products that call themselves “eco-friendly” have that name because it is good marketing. Eco-friendly is not something that is sold with a label and buying all the products that are sold in the “eco-friendly kit” does not make us environmentally responsible. If you want to reduce your impact, just use what you already have.
Romanticizing everything that is biodegradable has the opposite effect to the desired one, as it gives us the feeling that we are taking conscious action, when in reality we continue to consume and discard irresponsibly, but now without guilt. Synthetics, on the other hand, are not necessarily negative. Being able to produce synthetic materials has saved more than one species from extinction. Having been able to substitute whale oil for petroleum in past centuries shows us that what we need are more innovations.
The planet is not “sick with humans”, we are only the species that managed to evolve by modifying its environment. The number of humans that inhabit the planet and the current quality of life is the proof of that evolutionary success. Applauding progress does not imply failing to remember the responsibility we have with this planet and how necessary it is for our survival to find more efficient ways to conserve our environment.
Source: Ramos Jaime, A, YouTube channel.