Convenience, Camping, and Recycling

While in route to a local cross country ski course, a friend told me the secret to recruiting folks for outdoor recreational pursuits. It largely involved a certain level of convenience provided. He brought up a fundamental truth regarding human consciousness. He talked about the difference between commitment and going, the dissonance in  following through with your beliefs, and basically the difference between “the walk” and “the talk.”

Specifically we talked about how easy it is to answer the question “do you want to go camping?" (or any recreational pursuit). Nine times out of ten, from those who find joy from these activities, the answer will be "yes, of course." The answer however, is completely different then the action. To actual take that step out the door is a much larger and real commitment then agreeing or talking about taking that step. That is where the issue of convenience comes in.

By the time we had made it to the ski course and were pulling on our boots, my buddy explained the process of providing convenience so no one can pull the "weary-of-work" alarm. He said you have to pull up on their doorstep, have the bags and equipment tucked neatly into the backseat, and breakfast in hand. Make it as easy as possible for people to comply. He made a good point, and I'm sure to this day he understands that the concept of convenience stretches well across the human paradigm.

The thought really occurred to me as I walked around the University of Iowa's campus for 40+ minutes with a read-over newspaper in hand and looking for a recycling bin. I eventually located one strategically located underneath a printer, but I wondered how many people (including myself on a tighter schedule) would take the time to seek out the proper reciprocal for their papers, plastics, metals, and cardboards?  It's another issue of convenience. Another issue of the taking the path of least resistance. Very few people (at least in Iowa City) are opposed to Recycling, yet the number of people that are "pro-recycling" don't translate into volume saved or post-consumer turnover. And of course it can be applied farther then properly  placed recycling bins. 

So the question that the environmental engineers, advocates, screwballs, and accountants should be asking is how can we make sustainability convenient for people? How can we make people want to drive less, to consume less, and to dispose less? New ideas are out there and progress is being made, single-stream recycling is making conserving more convenient, but the window is still wide-open for opportunity. And whether or not the climate is truly changing, it is clear to see the culture and mindset towards common-day practices are.

BDL