How Moving From New York to Seattle Made Me Eco-Friendly

Shiwani Srivastava
George Rose/Getty Images


Not anymore, apparently.



Here's what I remember about recycling in New York in those days: Mayor Michael Bloomberg suspended the recycling of all glass and plastics from 2002 to 2004. The city was operating on recycling laws from the late 1980s, and finding a recycling bin was like trying to hail a cab in a rainstorm—you could never find one when you needed it.


When I first moved here, the biggest adjustment I had to make was to the way Seattleites recycle at home. In the New Jersey town where I grew up, our recyclables got picked up once a month—the rest was up to us. And even if my New York apartment did have recycling bins, I doubt I would've stood there sorting my recyclables on account of the giant rats guarding the dumpster. In Seattle, recycling isn't just easier—it's less expensive! Getting slapped with a fine because your trash contains more than 10 percent recyclables is a pretty good "go green" incentive, if you ask me.



Hey, baby steps.



Still, in my short time here, the community (aka peer pressure) has played a major role in my going green. Right now, Seattle residents already recycle close to half of their garbage—the recently mandated food and yard waste service is likely to push that number closer to 60 percent. (The national average is 32 percent, which is actually better than I thought.)

As Susan Burton pointed out in Mother Jones, New York residents might only recycle 18 percent of their trash, but they also "produce much less waste than the average American: about 250 pounds less per household per year." She argues that reusing and reducing need to become an ingrained part of our city cultures—not something we constantly think about. I couldn't agree more.


Day-to-day, I rarely hear about Seattle's recycling program. I don't see many billboards or television ads about reducing waste—it's just a part of life. That's a crucial piece I didn't know was missing while growing up in the fine state of New Jersey. When I was young, I used to think that you had to travel to the Alps to see the kind of natural beauty—we're talking Sound of Music-style rolling hills and snow-capped mountains—that's commonplace in Seattle. And I want to keep that natural beauty around for a long time. For the first time, "saving the environment" seems less abstract, less impractical and much more personal.

How'd that happen?




Share This Story