It Isn't Easy Being Green

I've been thinking a lot about the psychology of recycling because I find it really interesting. I recently started a recycling bin at work because I eat both breakfast and lunch there. Everyday I have a Yoplait yogurt in a plastic cup and a microwavable lunch that comes in a paper box and a plastic dish. It just felt wrong throwing these recyclables in the regular garbage each day, so I asked for a recycling bin.

I never would have done that before I lived in Seattle. I mean, I did my best with recycling before that, but I never felt weird about throwing something in the garbage. But Seattle changed that.

You see, in Seattle, you don't just sort your trash at home. Everywhere you go forces you to think about that you use and how it can be reused. At the law school I went to, you didn't see a trash can. You saw at least three trash cans: one for plastics, one for mixed papers, and one for glass. Sometimes there was a fourth for electronic media (which always seemed unnecessary—how many old flash drives can people really have?) At Starbucks you saw two trash cans: one for trash and one for compostables. And don't even get me started at Whole Foods. They have four separate trash cans, illustrative posters, and employees that sort through them to make sure people get it right. The posters and employees are necessary because it's hard to figure it out sometimes. Is a napkin trash, paper, or compost?

I'm sure that Seattle implemented that system in part because it makes it easier for sanitation workers to sort through the trash and makes recycling more efficient. But I also think that someone figured out that there are psychological benefits, too. If everywhere you go in public forces you to think about what you're throwing away, then that carries with you when you go home. I still get lazy about stuff, but I make a much bigger effort now to be careful about what I put into the garbage can.

I wish more cities and towns did what Seattle does. I think that recycling in America would be implemented by more people if they did.