Serene Karplus, Nederland. There is no “away” in throwing away. It’s still here, whatever it is. Even if it seems decomposable, once it hits the landfill or the ocean, it is here forever.

We’ve all seen the photos of trash piles the size of entire states choking the ocean. Landfills are not just a hole dug in the ground and covered up, magically making our detritus disappear. They are tough-to-find locations with specific non-porous dirt to contain the toxic materials, so they don’t break down and mingle with our earth, air and water.

The pendulum has swung, and we can no longer dump our “recyclable trash” on China. They once welcomed it as an inexpensive source of plastics for remanufacture into yet more consumable goods. But they don’t want it anymore.

Some manufacturers in our country have stepped up to increase re-use of the plastics that will never break down. But they can’t keep up with the massive volume of plastic trash produced every hour as we consume huge quantities of packaging and delivery systems like plastic cups, cutlery, wrappers and straws at fast food restaurants and grocery stores.

It only takes a small amount of well-intentioned, but uneducated, recycling to contaminate an entire load and turn tons of otherwise recyclable goods into trash. Americans, especially, are not meticulous about cleaning recyclable plastics. Food waste left on plastic renders it trash. A plastic-coated paper cup (most are not coated with biodegradable wax) tossed in with the compostables turns the entire batch into trash. A greasy pizza box mixed in with the cardboard wastes the whole lot.

Words like “eco” printed in green ink do not convert trash into something better. Read the label. It may call itself green because it was made with 20 percent recycled material. Yes, we need to choose more post-consumer (recycled) products over virgin materials, but that does not mean they can be recycled again or composted.

Many of us do what we can. Some of us tear the plastic off a tissue box so we can recycle the paper. Some of us acknowledge the tree that was cut to produce the toilet tissue and we wad it just a little thinner. One friend carries a washcloth as a mini-towel so she doesn’t have to consume trees or burn fossil fuels to generate blow dryer electricity. Some of us refill our nut butter jars and reuse our plastic bottles and bags many times.

Just because we are currently in crisis with our markets for recyclable materials does not mean we should give up and stop sorting such items. We still need to maintain our habits of reducing what we knowingly place in permanent trash heaps. We must still make it possible for items to be recycled whenever our trash haulers can find markets for it.

What we all can do is consciously consume less whenever possible. We can think twice before buying that bottle or overly packaged item. For each special treat bottle of beverage we consume in minutes, we can envision the thousands per hour racing off an assembly line, shrink wrapped onto pallets and entering our world of trash for the rest of forever. Knowing that our purchase encourages the manufacturer to produce, package and ship the item that way makes us party to the waste chain. Recognizing that the packaging will likely reside in a landfill and never be recycled can give us pause.

No matter how careful we are, we are consumers. We will generate trash. There is no such thing as zero waste in our consumer lives. We can, however, change our consumption habits and disposal behaviors one small step at a time and each small choice made by millions of us every day adds up to a huge impact on the future of our planet.

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

All ages of adults are welcome at all events. Sign up for all meals and events at 303-258-0799. Meals are served at the Nederland Community Center. Please call two days ahead for lunch reservations (more for dinners and breakfasts if possible). Missed the deadline? Call anyway. Please note that all over age 60 are welcome at meals regardless of ability to contribute financially.

(Originally published in the April 18, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)