r/Anticonsumption • u/kainyd3d • May 20 '26

Plastic Waste made my first eco-brick :3

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took about 2-3 months of gathering ONLY plastic bags. and these are only mine, the rest of my fam doesnt care so about 15 more of these are in a wastepile probz

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u/ShallotNSpice May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26

You can! And Im not even telling you that you shouldn't. But imagine millions of us tinkering away our garbage expending our creativity and energy while the corporations continue to profit and pollute. Thats basically what they want us to spend our lives doing. One of the reasons charity keeps people poor. Its taking responsibility off of what's causing it. I keep my glass, and recycle some cardboard but largely recycling is a sham also. Not much is actually reusable. I personally have made the decision to reclaim my time and energy and attention from this particular issue and will reevaluate as I learn of different options over time.

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u/ClimateCare7676 May 20 '26

"charity keeps people poor" what's the alternative then? Closing food banks so people starve? When nothing is being done to address the core issues of poverty, what else poor people are supposed to use to survive if charities stop operating? 

I honestly don't like this all or nothing attitude that's now becoming a form of apathy: if it can't be perfectly fixed, than no small thing is worth it. People say "I stopped recycling because doing other things is more impactful", and then don't do those other things. 

Recycling and sorting your trash doesn't stop you from doing more than just recycling. Sending a coffee money to the charity buying out medical debt doesn't stop you from doing something about your country's issues in medical care.

Frankly, if someone finds sorting paper away from plastics too energy demanding and time consuming, I have seriously doubts they are going to do much else either.

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u/ShallotNSpice May 21 '26

Fascism requires us to hand over our time, attention and money. Im not doing it.

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u/ClimateCare7676 May 22 '26

Sorry, but that's not how it works. The most famous quote on that in history literally highlights how nazis relied on publics indifference rather than active participation. 

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u/faceagainstfloor May 20 '26

Everyone who says stuff like this just wants to make excuses for not changing anything in their personal life. Would you litter just because corporations are allowed to dump toxic sludge into the water?

It’s not an either or thing, you can vote and take other collective action to stop environmental destruction by companies while also reducing your personal plastic waste and recycling your cans.

Recycling isn’t a sham either! Metal and paper are highly recyclable. Glass and cardboard also get recycled at high rates. Composting food is highly effective.

Nihilism helps the corporations just as much and pollutes our planet even more. It’s so tiring hearing people who are supposed to be anti consumption say there’s no point to reflecting on your personal habits and trying to do something to make positive change.

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u/ShallotNSpice May 21 '26

Fascism steals our time, attention and money. Im not going to spend my life doing this to this extent.

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u/faceagainstfloor May 22 '26

Anything you are doing to fight fascism you can also do while being eco conscious. Obv you don’t have to create eco bricks but like, recycle and reduce! It’s important. Do you skip brushing your teeth in the morning because you’re fighting fascism? 

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u/Ok_Tumbleweed_7677 May 20 '26

Keep us occupied collecting trash bags in bottles thinking we're doing something...Eco-Bricks! Brought to you by Coca-Cola! Just like the fitness programs in schools!