INTRO
“Reduce, reuse, and recycle”
The catchphrase is repeated to a classroom of children learning the first concepts of environmentalism. The more you recycle rather than throw away, equated with causing less waste. However, as found by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, only 15% of plastic waste ends up being recycled while 40% is discarded due to its low quality leading actual plastic recycling rates to be as low as 9%1. After learning this fact I feel less heroic when I consume a canned beverage rather than one from a plastic bottle. The mound of recycling that builds throughout the week reminds me that only a fraction of that will be recycled while most of it will be transported to distant landfills.
I created a mask from some of the recycled beverage containers that I collected throughout the week. The piece is titled “Recycle Me” showing how our “recyclable” waste presents just as much of a problem for the future as the trash in our landfills. The mask cages in the wearer show the consequences of the sense of heroism that surrounds the act of recycling. Created out of cans around a base of aluminum wire, the mask is somewhat uncomfortable to wear connecting to the hidden cost of recycling being viewed as the best way to reduce waste.
Kristian Syberg, “Why Recycling Isn’t the Answer to the Plastic Pollution Problem”, Scientific America, December 13, 2022, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-recycling-isnt-the-answer-to-the-plastic-pollution-problem/ ↩︎
