Recycling won’t solve the waste dilemma, but consumers can

Speaking to the World Economic Forum (WEC) during a live Facebook webinar, TerraCycle’s chief executive Tom Szaky claimed that the world “can’t recycle [it’s] way out of waste” and instead called on individuals to tweak shopping habits in order to promote durable and used products. According to Szaky, consumers are purchasing around ten times more stuff compared to 100 years ago, the majority of which is “voluntary consumerism” and things that “put a smile” on our faces. He claimed that big business wasn’t designed to promote anti-consumerism, but that they would “mirror” consumer habits and would therefore introduce more durable and used goods if society demanded it. “Consumerism is the underlying issue of every single environmental issue of earth,” Szaky said. “We need to buy more consciously and agree that everything we buy will be waste. If you agree with that, then try to move to durable goods. You may have to spend a little more upfront, but you’ll save in the long-term and the environment will thank you in the process. “Shop the things that you want more of, and big business will reflect this in their products. Brands are just a reflection of our desires, but it’s our job to choose what we want and it’s a very powerful choice.” Read the full article ‘TerraCycle: Recycling won’t solve the waste dilemma, but consumers can’ on the Edie web site. TerraCycle specialises in recycling typically hard-to-recycle waste.