Earth Day, Wishcycling, and Climate Change Skeptics ♻️
Thinking about Gen Z's enthusiasm for climate change and recycling
Everyone should know what Earth Day is by now. Though, It’s likely you don’t know too much about the topics behind the holiday or even when it is. (It’s today! Or on April 22nd, depending on when you read this issue.)
There are some people who appreciate nature, and those that would rather stay inside. I’m sure if you ask the average American, they can say that they appreciate sitting by a shady tree or walking outside every once in a while.
So, this brings me to my next question- are we ready to face what some people don’t want to talk about (aka, the two big topics of interest about the earth: climate change and recycling?)
I remember I was at a church’s nursery one time in my home state when I heard a lady in her 50s beside me say, “I don’t believe in climate change. That’s all a made-up thing anyway.”
I looked at her from a distance for a second. “Well, you didn’t think your daughter would have a baby outside of marriage, but here we are Susan*,” I said to nobody in my head and continued to scroll through my phone, thinking how there are people everywhere, even in my small-town community, who don’t think that climate change is something to worry about.
Older people love to travel and appreciate America’s national parks, but do those same people believe in climate change? Do they even recycle? (And do younger generations recycle?)
Also, why are Gen Z and younger Millennials more adamant about climate change and recycling than Baby Boomers and Gen X? (and even some older Millennials?)
So I’m not supposed to throw away my plastic bags?
Americans know that recycling exists, but only 35% of the population is doing it.
One reason is because of unequal access to recycling programs across the U.S., with a higher concentration of recycling centers in urban areas than rural.
Ninety-four percent of Americans can recycle in some capacity, but residents who live in a lower-income area like Western Iowa probably can’t take their glass bottles to a facility like someone living in Massachusetts at an upscale city can.
To be honest, I don’t really know how to recycle. Well, not all the ways that I should.
At airports or large areas where there was a recycling bin, I usually have no idea where to put my empty can… and I’m 99% sure that I threw away my Minute Maid lemonade bottle in the wrong bin one time at Atlanta’s airport.
I never received any education in high school about recycling, and recycling bins didn’t exist in my small Southern hometown or even at my university. Unfortunately, most Gen Z students didn’t either.
For example, for the longest time, I didn’t know that you can recycle plastic bags. (yes, I was that ignorant about recycling.) They’re non-biodegradable, meaning they can’t decompose naturally in the environment in a short amount of time, because, well, it’s plastic.
I understand how kids don’t know how to recycle now, but what about us as adults? Are we doing what we can to learn about recycling?
Honestly, it’s unlikely most of the population is sitting at home now and wondering, hmm, how should properly recycle my cups and cans? In public places, most people can look at a recycling bin and guess for a split second, oh, okay, this bottle goes in here. But not everyone will do that. People are too busy all the fucking time.
Unless recycling is a priority for them or the nearest recycling bin is an easy five-minute walk from their house, they’re not going to make a special trip one hour away to the nearest recycling facility for no immediate reward and immediately start throwing away their cans in the right bin.
A majority of Americans aren’t recycling the right way, either. Most people aren’t even aware that when you throw away something into the recycling bin, even if it’s the correct item, it’s supposed to be dry and clean. Not filled with remains of your leftover egg noodles or sips of Dr. Pepper.
Wishcycling is when someone puts a non-recyclable item in a recycling bin in the hopes it will be recycled, when in fact it won’t, and damages the environment more than it helps. TikTok user miss.alexandria talks about how most fast food places don’t have any recyclable items because their receptacles contain too much plastic. In short, when in doubt, throw it out.
And what about my question before asking if older adults recycle?
Before the rise of the green movement in the 1970s, our parents, grandparents or great grandparents did have ways to recycle, which was creatively reusing items because of a lack of local goods. Back then, though, it was just called, “we’re poor and this is how we’re saving money.” (according to my dad). Baby boomers and Gen X grew up around a time when their parents bought fabric from a local store to sew clothes and tilled their gardens for food.
However, with modern consumption and our Americans’ use of heavy machinery, overseas drilling, and our insane use of new kinds of technology now, our unsustainable lifestyle is making climate change worse.
Rising temperatures are causing more wildfires in the west, sea levels are rising on the East Coast and Gulf Coast, and a growing Southwest drought is reducing the amount of drinkable water.
Unfortunately, even though Americans are accountable for half of the globe’s solid waste, we’re number one in not feeling guilty about their excessive carbon footprint.
Why did Susan say she doesn’t believe in climate change?
When I say Susan, I’m not talking about just older Susans (although those Susans count), but a chunk of aging, retired Americans- mostly baby boomers and Gen X.
The thing is, although older generations are still using the old ways of recycling (i.e. reusing plastic cups and bowls from fast food restaurants, using old, hand-me-down China plates instead of plastic plates), not a lot of older people know or recognize that there is another more advanced way to recycle- using local recycling bins and taking items to the recycling center.
The inaccessibility is a problem. For example, the nearest recycling center in my hometown of 600 people is one hour away. Can you imagine how many clean coke cans and glass bottles would be recycled if it was only 10 minutes away? I don’t have to be a market researcher to know that more people would know about how recycling works and do it more often.
A lot of people, though, are simply unaware and uninterested. Again, it’s not on their to-do list to tackle.
What you may not know is that there’s a common myth that boomers and Gen X aren’t as interested in climate change (as seen by the OG Susan at the beginning of this issue). However, that’s not entirely true.
Climate change interest among older Americans differs among political lines. Republicans believe that there’s already plenty of progress from the government to reduce climate change. Democrats, however, are different and believe there’s more to be done to protect our ecosystems.
This is NOT a political newsletter, so I’m not going to describe in detail why older Republicans aren’t as excited to protect the environment as younger generations.
However, because a lot of things are now political, I’ll explain briefly here. The Republican agenda has long stated that climate change should be less of a priority (or, that climate change isn’t real). These statements are said by top Republican officials our grandparents and their same-age friends listen to as opinion leaders on the news. These media messages directly affect older adults’ thinking and behavior, which trickles down to friends and family saying these same things to the newest generation, aka Gen Z.
This explains why Susan said that she doesn’t believe in climate change. That’s because she really doesn’t, and it’s likely that she’s heard the same quote from friends and family who are also absorbing the same information from their friends, family or the news.
Unfortunately, older Americans aren’t likely to think critically about why exactly these people are saying this. There’s a theory called Potter’s Box that to make an informed decision, you need to understand the facts, outline the values in your decision, apply relevant philosophical principles, and articulate a loyalty.
Most people don’t even get to step two. It might be because they’ve never learned how to think this critically, or that it’s easier to believe what we want to believe.
We believe what we hear automatically because, again, we’re busy people. Life is easier when we accept long-standing ideas we hear instead of thinking critically and realizing we’ve been living a lie this whole time.
So, now what?
If Americans are adamant about reducing our carbon footprint, then it starts with Gen Z, but also Millennials and older generations (in other words, everybody that lives and breathes in this country).
Of course, there’s hope. My local Walmart has a recycling bin where I can dump all of my plastic bags, and I think there’s a climate march today at the university I attended to advocate for recyclable bins there.
Gen Z is now seeing how these wildfires, extreme weather and toxins are negatively affecting the earth, and thankfully are doing something about it before it’s too late.
*Susan is not the woman’s real name. Just want to point that out before we mention climate change skeptic Susans out there.