Consumption, recycling, and The Story of Stuff

When people know what I do for a living, or find out, some of them are often quick to tell me that they recycle at home. Some of them recycle more than others, or better than others, and those who do are quite proud of their efforts.

Don't get me wrong... recycling is great. I've been recycling pretty much everything I can since the mid-1980s.

But dealing with the post-use part of consumption is only one of many sections of the sustainability equation.

What if choosing a slightly different item would diminish the amount of recycling needed? Wouldn't that be better? What if choosing a different item all-together would eliminate the need for recycling?

Ultimately, the big picture has to be looked at in order to make more significant improvements in sustainability. And that means that our role in the entire chain of consumption must be examined.

So what's the entire chain of consumption? I still haven't seen a better explanation of it than "The Story of Stuff", an animated movie by Annie Leonard. It's about 20 minutes long, but its content and entertainment value make it well worth the time, especially you have similar political beliefs, or if your political skin isn't too thin.

http://thestoryofstuff.org

She's got other stuff on there, so make sure you get (or start with) The Story of Stuff.