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W I S H C Y C L I N G a neologism, a thread. AKA "aspirational #recycling" of materials that have no shot of being recovered. I first noticed the term in this 2018 @baltimoresun story. 1/10 #plasticpollution https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/environment/bs-md-recycling-20180618-story.html
I was writing a story at the time for @michellelegro via @topicstories on the #plasticbag -- and trying to explain the conundrum bags posed to curbside comingled recycling systems: #wishcycling #plasticpollution 2/10
See: https://www.topic.com/american-beauties
See: https://www.topic.com/american-beauties
The concept --that recycling, as organized, isn't the panacea we've hoped it be-- is a common topic in waste and discard studies. (See Samantha MacBride's Recycling Reconsidered or this update via @DiscardStudies: https://discardstudies.com/2019/02/11/12755/) #recycling #plasticpollution 3/10
Wishcyling is everywhere now. [I googled it: 31K hits -- 
] Especially now, in light of recent shifts (China stopped importing 'recyclables'), studies (see @rolandgeyer @JambeckResearch & @klavlaw), and coverage (e.g., @LauraSullivaNPR) 4/10 https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled
] Especially now, in light of recent shifts (China stopped importing 'recyclables'), studies (see @rolandgeyer @JambeckResearch & @klavlaw), and coverage (e.g., @LauraSullivaNPR) 4/10 https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled
But what is its backstory of the term wishcycling? The oldest reference I could find was a 2015 story by @ericroper via @StarTribune. 5/10 https://www.startribune.com/recycling-or-wish-cycling-materials-to-stop-tossing-in-the-big-blue-bins/329264261/?refresh=true
In that story @ericroper explains how'd he'd heard the term from a man named Bill Keegan at a MN-based waste/recycling company called @Dem_Con. I recently contacted Bill and he replied the term may well have begun with him. #wishcycling 6/10
Source: http://green.nd.edu
Source: http://green.nd.edu
"I describe [wishcycling] as the act of walking to the curb with something that you are unsure if it can be recycled or not so you throw it in the recycling bin – wishing that it will be." -- BIll Keegan of @Dem_Con. 7/10
Re: #wishcycling and plastics: rethinking recycling infrastructure is good, but more impt: source reduction. Recycling -- being a better recycler -- is ONLY a partial sol'n to #plasticpollution Here's more steps:
https://plasticfreepresident.org/ cc @brkfreeplastic @PlasticsBeyond 8/10
https://plasticfreepresident.org/ cc @brkfreeplastic @PlasticsBeyond 8/10
Anyway, wanted to share what I've learned in the process of trying to make accurate attributions for the terminology ( #wishcycling!) moving into the vernacular to describe this aspect of our collective reality. #plasticpollution #recycling #discardstudies / 9/10
I'll close with a link to this policy update via lso, policy updates via @WasteDive
https://www.wastedive.com/news/biden-harris-congress-epa-recycling-plastic-climate-pfas/593525/
Thanks for reading. Would love to keep learning. Let me know what you think. cc @jennie_romer @enckj @DiscardStudies @kmoneill2530 @finnarne /end
https://www.wastedive.com/news/biden-harris-congress-epa-recycling-plastic-climate-pfas/593525/
Thanks for reading. Would love to keep learning. Let me know what you think. cc @jennie_romer @enckj @DiscardStudies @kmoneill2530 @finnarne /end
