Going green: not quite ripe?

Changing attitudes is the hardest thing of all

It seems that everyone is into “being green”. Green policy in the UK has grown in popularity in recent years, so much so that 2010 saw the election of the first Green Party MP. But how “green” actually is Britain? Is it just a phase everyone’s going through? A new trend? If we dig a little deeper will we find that it reflects a true change in attitude towards our environment or is “green’” merely a surface value?

I have a feeling it could be the latter.

When I was younger we never had recycling boxes. Occasionally we’d take a few empty bottles to the bottle bank but beyond that our efforts towards preventing climate change were limited. So all of the recycling boxes around these days suggest that people have changed their views towards the environment in a positive way, right?

Wrong.

Whilst the boxes may have been issued with good intent and perhaps a positive new outlook, the reality is that the boxes alone are not enough. People have busy lifestyles, perhaps more so than before, and sometimes they just don’t have time to wash out ten yoghurt pots, twenty jars and check every piece of packaging to see if it can be recycled. People’s priorities haven’t changed, and yes it’s great that recycling has made it onto the ‘to do list’, but most people wouldn’t hesitate to cross it off to replace it with a more pressing task if necessary.

As a result, the good intent of the boxes has been lost. Some recycling is of such low quality due to contamination that it ends up in a landfill site anyway. I’m not saying that this is a reason to give up recycling full stop; I do think the initiative is a positive step forward, but I believe that in order for it to be fully effective the council cannot simply dump the boxes and let that be the end of it. It needs to encourage the idea that recycling is important, rather than an inconvenience and make every attempt to ensure that people are fully equipped to recycle properly to prevent contamination. But I don’t think people should be forced to recycle - people should want to - and that’s where attitudes need to change. So as I’m writing this I’m on my laptop, I’m listening to my iPod and I’ve just finished texting a friend – and I’m very aware that all of these things require power. Campaigns to reduce electricity usage are currently quite common, from government posters to television ads for energy companies, though the angle they usually take is one of saving money rather than saving the environment. Perhaps that isn’t a bad thing, people are probably more inclined to unplug their television if think it will save them some money and as a student I can finally understand the importance of switching off the light as I leave the room – dad would be so proud.

But this can only get us so far. If technology develops so that it is greener though more expensive, it seems likely that many would still opt to spend less at the expense of the environment. I still believe technology should be enjoyed; it enriches people’s lives in different ways and could very well be the way to prevent climate change in the future - but it’s difficult to reconcile this with the idea of cutting back. It’s perhaps harder now to promote ideals of enjoying the outdoors; going for bike rides, playing football in the park, enjoying picnics in the fields… when most children have a television, an Xbox and a laptop in their rooms. But maybe this is the kind of campaign that should be encouraged: promoting positive activities, which, even if only indirectly, reduce energy consumption.

Policy can only get us so far with regards to protecting the environment as it’s not always a reflection of how people feel; so we must make the extra step ourselves and start being green from the bottom-up.

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