Madison Thompson discusses the significance of recycling in Germany and the numerous ways to do so.
My whole life I’ve always loved nature and have always been very passionate about taking care of and preserving the environment. I always go out of my way to recycle any plastic that I use, including water bottles, food packaging, medicine bottles, etc. I strongly believe in taking care of the environment and recycling any and everything that can be recycled. This is one reason why I was so interested in researching sustainability in Germany.
While researching sustainability in Germany, I realized how little the United States’ recycling and waste management systems compare to Germany’s. In the US, recycling isn’t required and many recycling bins are “catch-all” bins for whatever people to choose to put in them. Germany is quite the opposite: Germany has an incredibly detailed recycling and waste management system that involves a multitude of specially labeled bins for specific materials. Recycling is a service that many Americans have to pay for, but German citizens are required to sort their waste and can even be fined for having too much garbage.
It's easy to feel defeated when thinking about ways to conserve the environment and prevent climate change because of how many issues make up the climate crisis. However, the efforts from countries like Germany give a real sense of hope and help to break down such large issues into manageable plans for solutions capable of real change. Actually seeing the efforts that Germany has in place for waste management and witnessing the incredible depth involved in their recycling system has made me feel more hopeful for the future.
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