It can be compelling to think that recycling theatre exists for commercial interests: for the environmentally minded, if you can fool yourself into thinking that the recycling bin is effective, then you feel no guilt about buying multiple drinks in plastic cups and bottles every day.
Without the plastic containers, many sources of revenue disappear. People are conditioned to pay for plastic water bottles, but often expect water fountains to be free.
As a wealthy consumer, it's much more convenient to buy a bottle of water when I need it, rather than carry a metal bottle with me everywhere for when I need it (and then refill at water fountains). The $1 cost of the bottle is negligible to me, so the only thing holding me back is the guilt of knowing that I am contributing to unsustainable economic practices.
In truth however, the same could be said for the meat I eat, the car I drive every day, my luxurious single family home with grass lawn, the luxurious levels of heating / AC I use every year, and so on. Very little of what I consume is 'sustainable' so even if we didn't have recycling theatre it's easy to get sustainability fatigue and buy the plastic bottle of water anyways.
Without the plastic containers, many sources of revenue disappear. People are conditioned to pay for plastic water bottles, but often expect water fountains to be free.
As a wealthy consumer, it's much more convenient to buy a bottle of water when I need it, rather than carry a metal bottle with me everywhere for when I need it (and then refill at water fountains). The $1 cost of the bottle is negligible to me, so the only thing holding me back is the guilt of knowing that I am contributing to unsustainable economic practices.
In truth however, the same could be said for the meat I eat, the car I drive every day, my luxurious single family home with grass lawn, the luxurious levels of heating / AC I use every year, and so on. Very little of what I consume is 'sustainable' so even if we didn't have recycling theatre it's easy to get sustainability fatigue and buy the plastic bottle of water anyways.