It is safe to say that almost everyone is concerned with saving the environment, but here we present nine seemingly environmentally friendly practices that are really not. We think we are doing the environment a favor with these actions, and worse, sometimes they are actually completely counterproductive.
It is safe to say that almost everyone is concerned with saving the environment, but here we present nine seemingly environmentally friendly practices that are really not.
Aspirational recycling
Wrong recycling is not helpful. The public usually makes it worse for recycling centers to do their work with the way trash is thrown and segregated.
China does not accept plastic waste imports any longer, which makes work even harder for local recycling centers. Due to the high cost, cities such as Philadelphia resort to incineration. In addition, not all recyclables are accepted in different places.
Many things put into recyclable bins are usually not recycled or recyclable, such as disposable paper cups (with plastic linings), Styrofoam, paper towels, glass, pizza boxes, plastic bags, and more.
READ: Health Impacts of Pesticides, Plastics, Synthetic Chemicals Doubled the Past 5 Years, Study Says
Placing plastic bags in recycling bins
By putting recyclables in plastic trash bags and putting the entire thing in the bin, you are preventing the entire bag from being recycled. Plastic bags are segregated from other recyclable plastics, and putting them together with other plastics will mean additional work for recycling centers.
Soft filmy plastic materials like sandwich bags and plastic films and cellophane which hold food are not recycled. They clog recycling machinery and damage it.
Using tote bags
In 2019, Denmark's Ministry of Environment & Food assessed the impacts of various shopping bags, including thin polyethylene bags and organic cotton bags. They found that more resources are needed to make tote bags than polyethylene.
They computed that paper and plastic reusable bags need to be reused 35 to 85 times to negate their environmental impact. Meanwhile, cotton tote bags need to be used a whopping 7,100 times in order to compensate for the resources needed to create them. If the bag is made from organic cotton, the rate become 20,000 times. The impact from making an organic cotton tote is negated only by using it twice weekly for 192 years.
READ ALSO: New Study Says Recycled Plastics from European Countries Actually Becomes Litter in Asian Oceans
Using organic cotton
The conventional cotton plant is also genetically engineered so that its yields become higher and its water requirements lower. In the end, more organic cotton plants are needed to produce one t-shirt than regular cotton.
Buying new, sustainable items of something you already possess
Simply, this is because making new products takes resources. You should just use the cups, bottles, mugs, utensils, and other things you already possess instead of buying new "environmentally friendly" versions of them.
Buying a new "eco-friendly" car is worse for the environment if one's regular car still functions. The Argonne National Lab found that hybrid cars cancel their impact eventually, but it's still better off buying a used car or keeping the old one in top condition.
Sharing rides
Uber or similar services roam around when they have no passengers, increasing average distance traveled by 84% per trip. They also worsen traffic.
Assuming non-GMO, vegan, local, and organic are environmentally friendly
Such labels do not guarantee their "environment-friendliness." For almond milk, for example, growing one almond requires over one gallon water. Soy milk and oats are better.
As for going local, a farmer bringing a few crates of tomatoes to the market may have a larger carbon footprint than simply shipping large batches from larger producers.
Indoor farming using water hoses and bulbs to replace free rain and sunshine is impractical and more costly. Using artificial lighting has five times more carbon emissions than conventional ones.
Bringing biodegradables to the landfill instead of composting
Most landfills prevent biodegradables from degrading. For degrading, bacteria, fungi and oxygen are needed; in contrast, landfills are oxygen-poor because stuff are tightly packed, so no decomposition occurs. And once landfills are full, they are sealed, preventing even more oxygen. If compost is done, trash is diminished by 30%.
READ NEXT: UK-Based Meat Alternative Company Goes Plastic Neutral