People seem to forget that the saying is “REDUCE, reuse, recycle”.

Maybe it’s because I grew up in the 90s, but I remember this plastered everywhere. Recycling comes LAST, because as you pointed out, in many scenarios it sucks (people don’t do it correctly, which slows down the recycling process at the plants and even sometimes clogs them; in many places only certain materials are recyclable and others have to be thrown away, etc).

Reducing consumer waste is first because it’s so important. Here are some ways you can reduce your waste:

• bringing your own shopping bags
• not using produce bags or using reusable produce bags
• shop the bulk aisles, which cuts down on packaging waste (and many times can be less expensive)
• buy second hand. You can get almost anything second hand, from clothing to electronics. I bought a certified refurbished iPhone from Amazon recently and it works perfectly.
• join local “buy nothing” groups and before you buy something, as if anyone has one to share
• make a plan before you go grocery shopping so you don’t buy things that will just sit in your fridge and go bad
• switch from single use items to multi-use. Such as straws, coffee cups, rags instead of paper towels, etc
• if you have to buy something packaged, try to find something that comes in packaging that you know is recyclable