Recycling 101: The Problem with Wish Cycling

The Problem with Wish-Cycling

As more people have become aware of the environmental issues around waste, they are also being more active in ensuring their own waste doesn't contribute to the global problem through recycling. It is awesome that people are trying to lessen their impact and that they recognize the importance of recycling.

The problem, however, is that there are many misconceptions about waste, which often leads people to wish-cycle. After all, people understand that avoiding the landfill is a good thing, so they believe they are doing the right thing, when in reality, it may have a detrimental effect. Wish-cycling, also called aspirational recycling, is the practice of recycling items that cannot actually be recycled. It is most common with plastics because of the complexity of plastic recycling, but can also happen with other products like heat-proof glass or aluminum foil. People wish-cycle because they believe that the items are, or in some cases, should be recycled. It's usually people that are extremely well-intentioned but don't have a complete education around the complexities of recycling.

But wish-cycling can have major consequences and be more harmful than you think. While wish-cyclers are well-intended and know that recycling is a good thing, wish-cycling is not a good thing. It's not just a simple mistake, but one that can actually end up being worse for the environment. Unfortunately, because of issues with our recycling process in general, wish-cycled materials can wreak havoc on diversion rates.

Three Main Issues with Wish-Cycling

There are three main issues with wish-cycling:

1. It can create more waste. Every time a batch of recycling is contaminated with non-recyclables, it risks being sent to the landfill altogether. That means not only did the original container that was wish-cycled not get recycled, it also caused way more recycling to be landfilled instead.

2. It can be costly and time-consuming. Wish-cycled materials that aren't immediately caught may end up going through the recycling process, which can damage the sorting machinery and cause costly delays. These delays and costs are then sometimes used to write off recycling altogether as not worth it - which isn't true.

3. It can make recycling appear more helpful than it is. Wish-cycling creates the mindset that everything is recyclable, so reducing and reusing isn't as necessary. Unfortunately, this can be harmful to enacting real progress within the sustainability community and make it hard to advocate for better recycling practices.

As big recycling advocates, we love preaching the importance of conscious waste habits. However, we're careful not to overemphasize its value, as the current global recycling system (especially when it comes to plastics) is far from perfect. In fact, recycling should be one of the lowest aspects of the waste hierarchy after reducing and reusing.

To avoid wish-cycling: As we've discussed before, recycling is very location-dependent, so always double- and triple-check your municipality's requirements before recycling. Wish-cycling comes from a place of good intentions, but unfortunately, it has the opposite intended effect. Recycling is far from perfect in the current system, and it's often frustrating to come across materials we think should be recycled. But by doing so when they are not, we are creating a bigger issue. As we continue to invest and expand recycling facilities, as well as understand and change our packaging, wish-cycling won't be an issue because everything we use will be recycled. Until we reach that point, though, avoid wish-cycling at all costs.