I’ve always recycled. I always try to save materials for recycling and avoid tossing things in the trash. It really bothers me to throw things away, yet somehow it’s more okay to toss things in the recycling bin to be hauled off somewhere and hopefully turned into something new.

So why do I recycle? I recycle as it’s a way to absolve some of my guilt for all the materials I consume everyday. I suspect that is the reason that most people recycle. We produce massive amounts of waste each day, and while it’s largely out of sight, it still bothers us. We feel we must do something more proper with our waste.

Recycling slows the process of extraction of resources to the dumping of resources for a brief period time. It certainly has slowed the increase in our trash dumping, but it seems that even our best intentions can’t slow our consumption of material. Recycling cuts down on waste and makes me feel good.