Why isn recycling on the Nature Challenge list?
The UCS model that’s the basis for the Nature Challenge considered the impact of various categories of household expenditures on four environmental problems: global warming, air pollution, water pollution and habitat alteration. In terms of that analysis, our choices regarding transportation, food and home energy use are topics which have significantly more environmental impact than the garbage we produce. Of course, our study looks at the average Canadian households. Some cities are experiencing a landfill crisis, in which reducing garbage could be a local priority. Canadians are doing an excellent job of recycling and should continue to do so – even though it isn’t on the Nature Challenge list.
