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Nowadays, I often hear people say, “What’s the point of recycling, it all ends up in the trash anyway!” While waste processing is not perfect, this statement destroys faith in environmental protection systems. It is becoming increasingly clear that myths about plastic need to be addressed to restore people’s hope not only in recycling but in the various institutions that do critical work to keep the planet clean. 

While it is true that a high amount of plastic cannot be reused, the act of recycling is valuable because of the amount of plastic that we can save–and the positive, sustainable habits that recycling reaffirms. Unlike recycled plastic, plastic that is thrown in the trash will undeniably end up in landfills, taking hundreds of years to break down. As many know, plastic is incredibly harmful to the environment when it sits in landfills. It degrades ecosystems, increases massive amounts of microplastics into our food and water (and bodies!), and even piles up in extreme scenarios like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Here are some friendly reminders to reduce your plastic disposal:

• Reduce! Get creative with alternatives to plastic (reusable bags, metal and glass containers, straws, cups, and more).
• Buy in bulk to minimize packaging.
• Say no to any one-time use items if you have the option.
• Recycle! Not only is it a conscious, sustainable habit, but it also diverts plastic from landfills and creates new products.

By Grayson Rae

In the United States, an estimated 66% of people own a cat and/or dog. Pets can have a huge carbon output and impact on their environment, and as sustainable pet ownership becomes easier with the introduction of new practices and products, it becomes easier than ever to ensure our furry friends put as little strain on the earth as possible.

Cat and dog food accounts for approximately 25%-30% of the meat industry in the US alone. While some pet food utilizes meat by-products that would not be otherwise consumed, a substantial amount of livestock is raised and processed for pet food alone. Two major organizations–Aquaculture Stewardship Council and Marine Stewardship Council–have provided certifications for pet food to ensure that all meat used for the food was ethically and sustainably sourced. Additionally, insect proteins are on the rise for pet foods, which provides an extremely low-carbon cost protein source. Look out for organic, wild-caught, or sustainably-sourced meat options when shopping for your pet food!

Pet waste also has a significant impact on the environment; dog waste is high in bacteria and viruses, which can contaminate waterways and infect humans and wildlife. Picking up after your dog is a critical way to ensure that your pet doesn’t contaminate any drinking or stream water. Additionally, when selecting dog waste bags, non-plastic or decomposable options mean less space taken up in the landfill by harmful plastics that will never break down. When it comes to cats, naturally derived litter, such as walnut or paper litter, is environmentally preferable to clay litter, which will not break down in the landfill and can leach toxic chemicals.

There are lots of unique ways to ensure you are sustainably caring for your pet–doing research and ensuring products are ethically and sustainably sourced is always a great first step to ensuring you are making the cleanest and greenest decisions possible!

By Mia Moore

Our community knows a lot about sustainability at this point. Many of us compost, thanks to increasingly convenient composting options. No matter your composting experience, it can always be helpful to get a quick refresher on the rules & importance of composting!

Composting is separating your organic waste (like food scraps, shells, bones, and yard waste) from the rest of your trash and recycling so that it doesn’t end up in the landfill. Composting is important for several reasons. First of all, it repurposes food waste into nutrient-rich soil, which is re-implemented into the earth, creating new life. Additionally, around 50% of the volume of our landfill is food waste, which has long-term impacts on the environment. Food waste in landfills is not able to biodegrade and instead emits methane, a greenhouse gas around 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide, exponentially increasing global warming. 

When composting, there are many things you can do with your organic waste; you can compost it on your own (which entails breaking it down and repurposing it) or you can have a composting company haul it from you. Unfortunately, the state of Utah does not mandate composting, so households have to rely on businesses to take care of composting. Luckily, in Park City we have the Zero Food Waste Initiative. This initiative, run by Park City Community Foundation, is trying to achieve zero food waste in Summit County by 2030 through the use of curbside composting. To participate, you can sign up for you’re own compost bin and weekly pickups from Momentum Recycling on the PCCF website. Let’s keep our land green and clean! 

By Grayson Rae

A letter, the first in a four-part series…

My Kin, I think often about your quality of life and health as I live my own with joy. What we do now will affect you and I’m trying to be aware and base my actions with this knowledge. I’ve worked hard to save natural resources by recycling and preventing our precious planet from filling up with garbage. Turning food waste back into soil has been helpful, but we humans still waste too much and not everything can be reused. My family–your ancestors–has been able to usually succeed in generating one small bag of garbage a week, but I know over time that adds up, and I’m trying to waste less. 

My Kin, we strive to reduce what comes in by taking our own cups, cutlery, bags, and containers to stores, restaurants, and potlucks. I hope you’re not reeling from the repercussions of our plastics, that once amazing invention from the early 1900s that later proved to be environmentally destructive. Can you believe they’re even finding remnants of it in our bodies? Our family tries to avoid this nemesis by using toothpaste tabs, shampoo bars, and metal and glass containers, but it’s challenging–plastics are so convenient and seem unavoidable. We’re decent at not buying special drinks in plastic, drinking our clean tap water, and buying foods unpackaged. Our paper products, like TP, paper towels, and copy paper from our treasured trees are usually made from post-consumer content, and when we can, we try to avoid using them at all (except the TP!). 

My Kin, we sometimes need or like to buy new clothes, shoes, gear, and furniture, and we prioritize thrift stores over buying something new, but it can be challenging. We rarely order anything online, as that results in packaging waste and trucks, boats, or planes polluting our environment to deliver them. When we buy cars, electronics, and homes–immense resource hogs–we try to buy them used, but our generation seems to thrive on consumption, and the responsible choices aren’t always available.

My Kin, I think often about what I have now–clean water and air, trees, wild animals, land and food–and I can only hope you’re experiencing the same. Please know we are all trying… 

By Mary Closser

A few weeks ago, I went to New York to visit some college friends. When I opened their trash can, it was full of cans and plastic jugs. As probably the second-biggest recycling stickler in Park City (close behind the woman who trained me), I had to ask why there were cans in the trash can when there was a perfectly good curbside recycling bin sitting outside the front door. They gave excuses—recycling doesn’t work, it’s a hassle—but later, over a glass of wine, the real reason came out: with so many heavy issues in the world, it just didn’t seem important.

I get it. In many similar conversations with my friends, we eventually get to a point of someone–often, myself–saying “it’s too much”. Too many crises, too many injustices, all piling on until the only response left is frustration or dread. Most days, I turn off KPCW when NPR comes on because I just don’t have the capacity to hear the bad news. And when we’re already stretched thin, it’s hard to hold space for environmental issues on top of everything else.

With so much tragedy in the world, our focus is pulled in a million directions. Climate change, by comparison, feels disregarded or left out, its impacts slow-moving, scattered, and often invisible in the moment. Why pay attention to a slightly warmer summer when the news is full of families being torn apart? I’m not asking anyone to change what they care about—it’s all important. But I do think we need to keep environmental issues in the background, because the background of every other issue is, ultimately, the environment.

If we let the environment slip too far, it becomes harder to deal with other urgent issues because everything depends on a livable planet. You don’t stop changing the oil just because you’re busy with other repairs. If you do, the whole car breaks down.

I think right now, we should all be aiming for maintenance-level engagement when we can. Don’t feel guilty about not doing everything, but don’t give up on everything either. Keep it simple: recycle when you can, pick up trash when you can, eat less meat when you can. Try to find ways to weave the environment into your thoughts or conversations on other topics–there’s always a connection. There’s no social justice without environmental justice.

By Chelsea Hafer