Why People don't Recycle?

Introduction

            Our recycling program has been a total disaster from the start due to the incompetence of our recycling layout. Yes, we did give the citizens of Murphystown recycling bins for their trash and established several laws to encourage recycling, however, we did not put the proper effort into promoting the good of recycling and encouraging recycling among the people of Murphystown. With this case study the purpose is to address why people don’t recycle, to readdress our commitment to the good of recycling and why it is important, and finally a solution to Murphystown recycling problem. If this paper is properly applied, we shall have solved this problem within a reasonable time.

Top Two Reasons People Don’t Recycle

            Murphystown being in the province of ---- within North America have been several studies showing what is the hard-hitting reason for people not recycling. Before we get into the depth of the reason why people don’t recycle let’s explain a very important fact that could be overlooked in our research. How many people think recycling is important? Well, the answer is an astonishing 80% of people in North America think recycling is extremely important (Wood 2021) These numbers are eye-opening to anyone with the slightest knowledge of statistics. We just need the following issue to help promote the already mountain of support we have for our project in our great city.

Number one is the issue of convenience, within “-North America and Western Europe, a proportionately high number of respondents said recycling was inconvenient, or they lack trust in recycling programs.” (Wood 2021) Furthermore, the number of people who said that they hate the inconvenience of recycling in North America was an outstanding 28% which is 9% higher than the next leading country (Wood 2021) Having several baskets with specific instructions on what can and cannot go into one or even a lack of multiple buckets for specific trash has lead to people not going out of their way to recycle properly. However, this cannot be addressed in the way of making it more convenient (the reason we have multiple trash cans is that you cannot mix recycling.) Perhaps we could find a different solution which will be addressed later in the paper.

            Second, as mentioned before the lack of trust in recycling programs. According to the same survey around 16% of people in North America don’t believe in the recycling program (Wood 2021) This is because the American recycling program has been a failure from the start. Luckily it hasn’t happened in the same way in our great town of Murphystown, in towns like Philadelphia and Memphis about half of its recycling went into dumbs anyway (Miltimore 2022) Because of laziness and lack of funding cities across the US have abandoned their recycling program. This means that the hard work people were putting into recycling was being ignored and thrown into dumbs or worse the ocean regardless of the recycling programs we have in place. Though our program has not suffered the same amount of corruption it is hard not to think of our program failing like every other American recycling program.

            For us to address these issues, that means a whole lot to the people of Murphystown, we need to also look at the reason we are trying to recycle in the first place.

Why is Recycling Important

            Despite the problems that have happened in the United States when it comes to recycling it is still a benefit not only to our town but also to our society that we adapt and learn to recycle. The benefits, when done properly, can not only improve our small town but also improve the world. These two kinds of benefits we must keep in mind while we improve our recycling program.

            First, the benefits for our town are astronomical in the scheme of things. “According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2010 employment in green goods and services accounted for 3.1 million jobs in the United States. The green job potential grows exponentially the more communities invest in their recycling efforts.” (Waste Advantage Magazine 2014) For our town, we have currently provided 30 jobs so far, and eventually, an additional 500 jobs for your small town will be done through our program. An increase in jobs will be a benefit for the livelihoods of the civilians of Murphystown. Second, it will also limit the amount of trash ending up in our landfills leading to it having a longer life. “Many materials such as plastic bottles and aluminum are 100 percent recyclable, but unless they get collected their potential is being trashed.” (Waste Advantage Magazine 2014) For our town, we will extend the life of the city’s landfill from twenty to seventy-five years. These are just the benefits for our town.

The Solution to Murphystown Problems

            Within this case study we have discovered two of the major issues with recycling in our little town lack of convenience and distrust in the recycling program. The solution to this problem is by far the easiest concept known to mankind, PAY PEOPLE TO RECYCLE. According to a 2014 survey, 41% of respondents said that money or rewards were the most effective way to get them to recycle. (Delmas 2019) this is because a lot of people would do whatever they can to earn a little bit of an extra buck. This may seem counterintuitive to pay people so we can save money, but the revenues from saving our landfill for an additional 75 years and the money made from recycling would outweigh the cost of paying people for their recycling. Pricing would be intuitive for what we are going to pay for the recycling. For example, in Wyoming, you can get paid for $0.60 per pound of Aluminum. (Moorhead 2023) We would just need to do similar numbers for paper, plastic, ext. This would also create jobs for people to weigh and give money to people who recycle. Another idea would be discounts for businesses. We could work with places in town and create a social credit system that would not only encourage local businesses but also encourage recycling. These two systems could help promote recycling and benefit the people as a whole.

Conclusion

            Recycling in our great town can be promoted very easily with the help of government investment in the people of this town and a little bit of aid from local businesses in our small town. To conclude, addressing the issue of trust and convenience money is often the best solution to such problems.

Work Cited

Wood, Johnny (Nov 18, 2021). This Is What Stops People from Recycling More, Finds A Global Survey. World Economic Forum Survey reveals why people don’t recycle more | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

Miltimore, Jon (May 31, 2022) How America’s Recycling Program Failed—and Scarred the Environment. Fee Stories How America’s Recycling Program Failed—and Scarred the Environment - Foundation for Economic Education (fee.org)

Five Ways Recycling Can Benefit Your Community (August 15, 2014) Waste Advantage Magazine. Five Ways Recycling Can Benefit Your Community - Waste Advantage Magazine

Moorhead, Caitlyn. (September 27, 2023) Aluminum Can Prices: Are They Still Worth Collecting? AOL.Com Aluminum Can Prices: Are They Still Worth Collecting? (aol.com)

Delmas, Magali. (November 21, 2019) To Boost Recycling Rewards Consumers with Discounts, Deals, and Social Connections. UCLA Newsroom To boost recycling, reward consumers with discounts, deals and social connections | UCLA