Recycling and recrafting: Pros and Cons

I think most of us can agree that the idea of recycling and reusing things is a good one, right? Cutting down garbage and pollutants for future generations, I certainly do. My parents and I go out of our way to recycle anything and everything we possibly can (except composting). I believe in it, and there are plenty of reused plastic containers around my room to prove it! lol.

But here's the problem I have with "re-using and re-crafting":
I find that the majority of people who care about the planet enough to re-use or re-craft would probably recycle as well. I think that some people who re-craft turn something that could have been recyclable in the first place into an item that someone else would just throw away. It's done wrong, it looks bad, it's crap, basically. Most people aren't excited about something re-used or re-created and aren't thrilled by it if it doesn't look great. The truth is that the majority of people on this planet do not recycle. Also the majority of educated people who choose not to probably would have re-using and re-crafting as far from their heads as recycling is.

Now that I've said that, let me tell you why I fully believe in recycling and re-crafting:
When it's done in good taste, it can be a huge benefit to waste-reduction as well as creating something new and useable. It's very unfortunate that most people can't see the good in recycling or re-crafting. We just continue to buy, buy, buy! There are plenty of things in this world that could function just as well refurbished as you can buy new in a store. Things that can have uses beyond the average person's imagination. It's also unfortunate that the general census, and also my boyfriend's feelings on the subject, of recycling seems to be that it doesn't really do much in the long-run. Well of course it doesn't! If only a small majority of the population is recycling and re-using it's not going to change anything (Ok, it changes a little, but not much!). But if a larger percentage of people did so, I really think it would make a huge impact on our world. However, that stigma of "it's a great idea, but it doesn't really make a difference" is preventing people from recycling and possibly making the world a better place (again, in my opinion).

Then there are the other people who think that trash is trash. Anything broken can't be fixed and should be thrown away. That a skateboard could never have another life as anything more than a skateboard. And those people probably wouldn't even be phased if someone showed them a raincoat made out of an old shower-curtain, or a shelf made out of said skateboard. They would think the finished product was pretty cool, but once they found out what it was made from, they still won't change their minds. 

Honestly, I don't care if you feel that it's all just garbage to you. I'm not going to be that person who tells you, "it's not all garbage! Respect your mother Earth! You should be ashamed of yourself." Recycling is a hassle, I won't deny it. It takes time out of your day to clean off that plastic or metal before you sort it into a special bin, then you have to take it to a special recycling center (if there even is one), and in the end there's not really any compensation except that you kept of handful of plastic containers out of the landfill. Sometimes I wonder if it does actually get recycled or if it just gets thrown away with the garbage. And then what happens to it afterwards? Don't even get me started on sifting through garbage to find treasures, or the amount of product that Goodwill throws away daily. Let's just say, it's ridiculous and time-consuming.

But I digress... My point is that there are some things that could be re-used for good, and should! I wish there were more re-crafters in this world. I wish people would buy more handmade awesomeness instead of buying crap from Wal*Mart. But handmade isn't cheap, and mass-produced "handmade" is B.S.

Okay, not sure if I was on a soapbox here, but I'll certainly get off it if I was, lol.

Which side are you on? 

What do you think about all of this? ♥