Empty spray can seeks yellow dumpster

If this were tinder (or grindr, -take your pick-), these two users would match. Unfortunately, this is not an advertisement for a dating app, but an article with which we continue our recycling efforts.  Maybe because we want to make it really clear, that there is no denying the evidence. And what is that evidence? OUR SPRAY CANS CAN (AND MORALLY SHOULD) BE RECYCLED. 

The recycling system that is regulated in Spain (which we talked about in the previous article on the environment and MTN) has room for improvement, that is obvious, but that does not mean that we should throw in the towel and ignore our active role as individuals. 

We will tell you how to be a hero and feel better about yourself in this article.

It's actually pretty simple. From an early age we are taught not to throw things on the floor, and to pick up our mess. It is true that during adolescence, as we test our limits and the limits of others, we go through a rebellious phase, which usually ends when you are the one in charge of cleaning up your house. 

What you don't do, someone else has to. It's not magic. It's overwhelming logic. 

FUN FACT:

This symbol was the winning design of a competition proposed by the American company Container Corporation of America (CCA) in 1970. The winner, Gary Andersen, a 23-year-old student, interested in the work of M.C. Escher, intrigued by the möbius band (of mathematicians August Ferdinand Möbius and Johann Benedict Listing), and a child of the Great Depression of the 1950s, sorted out the design in three days.  The logo implies the ideas of infinite recycling.

So what happens to the spray cans (and other debris you don't pick up when you're done painting? Who cleans it all up? 

Well, although it may seem the opposite, it is a team effort. Companies pay taxes on this issue, other companies (Ecoembes in Spain) are in charge of recycling. But we are the ones who have to put the containers in the dumpster.

That is literally it.

Yellow dumpster 

This dumpster first appeared in Spain in 1997 and right now, there are more or less 388,747.

That roughly means that the excuse "there's not one around when you need one" is as good as the one about the homework your dog feeds on.

But even though they are almost everywhere, according to a study in 2022, 275,078 tons of waste were produced, of which 91,773 tons were selectively collected. In other words, only 33.4 % was recycled.

In 2023, the regulatory target was 70%. We can do better. 

What can we graffiti writers, artists, spray can consumers in general do to improve this situation? (Companies pay specific taxes on this issue). 

Have the will to do so. 

The vast majority of us have a circle of people we love and care for. Recycling work is actually part of that care. Because how many times have we heard that phrase: "They poison us with so much crap in the air, food, water etc."? It's a classic. 

And like all classics it has some truth to it, but like a good iceberg, there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. So, sorry to burst the bubble, but someone has to start recognizing it.  

It is up to all of us to make it better.