Dear Recyclers

Recycling is a scam, and Ridwell is nothing but a wishcycling propagandist selling doorstep flair to affluent soccer moms. They are actively hurting the environmental movement. Ridwell is the worst of recyclers because they force anything you send them into a recycling process, at great environmental expense. Metal and food waste are the only materials truly recycled – and paper can only be downcycled. Any other materials that currently exist in our recycling paradigm are more environmental burden than benefit. That’s why Ridwell – and other “recyclers” charge for their service – the net negative effect of their recycling costs money, energy, and water. They need money to pay for processing undesirable materials whose raw extraction and manufacturing require less money/energy/water to make new materials. 40 years of delusional recycling education has led us to morally questionable businesses like Ridwell who deceive us that recycling is a way forward. Climate change is the biggest threat to the environment, but recycling is the biggest threat to environmental stewardship. Peer reviewed studies and evidence show that recycling has minimal, if any, positive impact against climate change. Every moment spent on recycling is a moment lost from saving the planet. Comprehensive recycling is four times less effective than a plant-based diet at mitigating per capita greenhouse gas emissions. A family that chooses to have one fewer child equals the same level of emissions reductions as 684 teenagers who adopt lifetime comprehensive recycling! Ridwell is a fraud selling an illusion of environmental stewardship under the guise of recycling. Their actions result in a net negative to the environment while their customers feel good about fulfilling their environmental duty. As such, people who participate in Ridwell and Ridwell-like programs are less inclined to take any meaningful action to mitigate real environmental problems in our community.