Stop calling personal choices climate action - I learned this at a town hall in Denver

Last month I went to a climate town hall at the city library in Denver. The whole room was hyped about recycling right and bringing reusable bags. Then a city planner stood up and said 'your recycling bin is 0.3% of Denver's emissions.' It hit me that we're all patting ourselves on the back for small stuff while ignoring that 70% of our local carbon comes from buildings and transport systems. Has anyone else felt like these individual tips just distract from pushing for real policy changes?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmaj3324d ago

Pretty sure that 0.3% number is just for Denver's residential recycling program specifically. Commercial recycling and the actual waste stream is way bigger. Still, your point stands strong.

thea85724d ago

Call your local waste hauler directly and ask about their commercial recycling service. I had to do this for my apartment complex and found out they were just tossing everything in the trash even though we had separate bins. You gotta stay on top of them or they'll just take the easy route. Check if they offer a dumpster audit too, some do it for free if you push hard enough.

lisak2623d ago

Does that 0.3% count what gets sorted out at the facility?