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The following op-ed
piece was distributed to newspapers
throughout California.
By Darryl Young,
Director
California Department of Conservation
The next time you finish a can of soda
or bottle of water, look around for a
recycling bin. Do you see one? Chances
are, you’ll have a hard time finding it.
How about the last time you were
cleaning out your car at the gas
station? Seeing a movie? Working out at
the gym?
The fact is, most of the places that
need recycling bins don’t provide them.
You might want to recycle your bottle or
can, but there’s simply no opportunity
to do so.
Last year in California, an estimated 8
billion aluminum, glass and plastic
beverage containers went to our
landfills. Bottles and cans that could
have saved energy and provided raw
materials for things like building
supplies, carpet and sweaters (which
could be used to warm Californians who
have turned down their heat to save
energy) wound up instead taking up
precious landfill space.
To put that number in perspective, take
a look at those plastic water bottles
that have exploded in popularity (from
which you may be drinking right now.)
Every day in California, 2.8 million of
them wind up in our landfills. That’s
about 6000 in the time it takes to read
this and a total of 194 thousand yards
of cubic landfill space each year…enough
to cover an area 50 yards wide by one
inch deep stretching the coast from San
Francisco to San Luis Obispo.
The problem isn’t that Californians are
choosing not to recycle. On the
contrary, most people, if given the
choice of sending their beverage
container to a landfill or giving it new
life, would choose to recycle and
protect the environment. The problem is
that California businesses haven’t given
consumers an opportunity to do so.
What’s troubling about this is the fact
that starting a recycling program is
easy. With a few phone calls and some
recycling bins, any business can have a
program underway. In some cases, grants
are even available through the State
Department of Conservation to help
offset the cost. In all cases, companies
can get money back for the bottles and
cans they collect.
The bottom line is that there is little
excuse for any business to not provide
consumers with a recycling bin. Indeed,
a few proactive organizations in
California have taken the initiative to
address the problem. Organizations like
the Los Angeles Dodgers, Warner Brothers
and the California State Parks
Association have seen how easy it is to
offer recycling. Unfortunately, most
businesses are still not doing their
part.
So this year, we’re asking Californians
to take a more active role in making
convenient recycling a reality.
Simple consumer activism is one of the
most powerful forces in business. When
enough people got fed up with the
Styrofoam packaging McDonald’s used, the
company stopped using it. When people
started leaving the unnecessary
packaging from their CD cases at the
music store because it was causing an
environmental headache, the recording
industry changed its packaging
techniques.
How can we make a
similar change? For starters, ask for
recycling. Next time you’re at your
local gas station or convenience mart,
ask where the recycling bin is. If they
don’t have one, ask them to put one in.
If enough customers ask for a bin,
you’ll be surprised how fast you start
seeing bins pop up. Who knows, if
businesses won’t give you the
opportunity to recycle, maybe you should
leave your bottles and cans next to the
trash can until they do.
At work, if your company does not have a
recycling program, ask why not, and then
ask how you can start one. If they tell
you it’s too difficult, have them visit
www.bottlesandcans.com or call
1-800-RECYCLE to find out just how easy
it really is.
Finally, follow our lead. This year, the
Department of Conservation will be
leading the charge by reaching out to
California businesses directly and
challenging them to provide their
customers and employees with recycling
bins. We're going to give them the
resources they need to become part of
the solution and are confident that with
a little additional persuasion from you,
good things will happen.
If any state can address the recycling
problem effectively, it’s California. We
already have one of the most innovative
approaches to recycling in the country
and are looking at ways to make the
system even better in 2003. Do your part
and ask for recycling. Because it’s good
for the bottle, it’s good for the can.
And it’s good for all of us.
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