If waste is a problem, recycling is only treating the symptom of the problem. Is the solution anti-consumerism?

Looking for credible sources for research(such as studies, numbers, statements), or anything related to problems of waste, disposable materials, recycling efficiency/inefficiency, landfills, environmental problems/policies, etc..If waste is a problem, recycling is only treating the symptom of the problem. Is the solution anti-consumerism?Consumerism is part of the problem, but not all of it. We have a pollution based economy. Our economy is designed to create waste, we have created disposable options for almost every product we can think of. We have moved away from natural and biodegradable items and replaced them with hybrids that can't be recycled. Even the act of recycling encourages more packaging, I'm thinking of things like bottled water, many people think it is benign because you can recycle the bottles, yet less than 20% are recycled.



You can look at the EPA statistics on the amount of garbage we create. The amount of garbage each person creates has more than doubled since 1970. We are closing/filling landfills at a rate of 1 per day in the US. Our garbage has become such a problem at one time we were shipping it to other countries.



If you want a good book about the subject read "Cradle to Cradle" You can also check out info on zero waste initiatives like the one in San Francisco.If waste is a problem, recycling is only treating the symptom of the problem. Is the solution anti-consumerism?plenty of people still want only new things and don't want to bother with contacting others about each other's stuff, but the appreciation of things that are still useful as opposed to sadly seeing it get crushed in a landfill is joy to the heart, less trees cut down and less pollution, our natural resources need a huge rest from over population, too much demand and not enough supplyIf waste is a problem, recycling is only treating the symptom of the problem. Is the solution anti-consumerism?No. Consumerism is a practice, but it is now concurrent with waste and pollution. Turning consumerism into an environmentally friendly practice is the answer. People can continue to waste without as many adverse effects if the things being wasted are biodegradable.