logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2018
46m 43s

What’s Really Going On With Recycling, H...

Sony Music Entertainment / Jonathan Van Ness
About this episode

Beth Porter is Green America’s Climate & Recycling Director, as well as the author of "Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine: Sorting Out the Recycling System." She joins Jonathan to talk all things recycling: what is is, how it works, whether plastic straws are as dangerous we’ve been told, how oil prices affect recycled plastic demands, and more.

Beth is on Twitter and Instagram @bethrecycles, and at www.bethrecycles.com. Her book "Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine: Sorting Out the Recycling System" is available here.

Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.

Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.

Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com.

Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com.

Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Oct 8
How to Stay Hopeful (and Powerful) When Rights Are Under Threat — with Planned Parenthood’s Alexis McGill Johnson
Planned Parenthood President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson is here and we are fired up! Alexis is leading the fight to protect reproductive freedom at a time when access to healthcare is under attack across the U.S.—and she’s breaking it all down for us. JVN sat down with Alexis ... Show More
48m 42s
Oct 7
Presenting Heavyweight: The Messenger
Looking for your next favorite podcast (besides mine, of course)? Heavyweight, hosted by Jonathan Goldstein, will break your heart...and then put it back together. In each episode, Jonathan helps someone revisit a defining regret, lost connection, or unsolved mystery from their l ... Show More
38m 47s
Oct 6
AI Trump Memes, OBBBA Tax Breaks & Healthcare Cuts
We’re talking: WAYWARD’s No. 1 spot on Netflix, celeb sightings at The Corner Store, Figure Skating & Gymnastics on Peacock, bag etiquette, AI Trump posts, One Big Beautiful Bill Act tax breaks & healthcare cuts, what extreme gender ideology actually is, situationship ghosting, L ... Show More
31m 21s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2021
Recycling! Is it BS?
The recycling bin — many of us have learned to view this humble container as an environmental superhero. It is, after all, the critical first step in turning our trash into… well, not treasure, but at least more stuff. Or is it? In this episode, we take a look at the science, hel ... Show More
48m 46s
Feb 2019
Is Recycling All Our Waste at Home Possible?
Waste, trash, garbage – whatever you call it, unwanted materials have become a major presence in many of our lives and our environment. Every year it is estimated that humans around the world produce 2 billion metric tonnes of waste. Listener Clare from Devon in the UK wants to s ... Show More
30m 38s
Apr 2021
Proven Ways to Be More Persuasive & The Surprising Truth About Recycling
If you saw someone walking down the street and they were not swinging their arms, you would think it looks a little weird. Yet, humans don’t have to swing their arms to walk - we can walk fine with it. This episode begins with an explanation as to why most of us swing our arms wh ... Show More
53m 13s
Jul 2018
Recycling Update: How’s It Going?
It’s been about a decade since Josh and Chuck last checked in on recycling and since then a lot has changed. A global commodities market dealing in recyclables has developed and recently crashed. Jump back into the fascinating world of recycling.  Learn more about your ad-choices ... Show More
1h 4m
Mar 2022
Ep 66: Recycled Content with Nick Higgins (Glad)
Have your eyes ever wandered to the bottom of your to-go container and found the words "made of X% recycled content"? Ever wondered what is meant by “recycled content” and how it plays a role in our global recycling systems? Of course you have, you're a Definer!  In this info-pac ... Show More
1h 5m
May 2022
Waste Colonialism, Recycling, & Microplastics
Jesi Taylor joins Breht to discuss waste management, how the racialized, colonial and imperialist world order dictates where certain kinds of trash ends up, the impact of landfills on communities, the hyper-localism of recyclying and its effectiveness, the fear of microplastics, ... Show More
1h 16m
Jun 2022
Does recycling help fight climate change?
Reduce, reuse, recycle is a familiar mantra the world over. Recycling has been described as ‘one of the easier climate-friendly acts” that individuals can do. A recent poll found that, globally, most of us believe that recycling is the single best thing we can do to tackle the cl ... Show More
27m 23s
Jun 2022
Is It Time to Dump Recycling? | 17
Are you a wish-cycler? Most people do their part to protect the environment by dumping basically everything that isn't food into their blue recycle bin. But is that what we’re really supposed to do? And are we making a difference? Nikki and Mr. Malone talk trash with Earth911’s M ... Show More
35m 11s
Jan 2009
Recycling and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Recycling has come a long way since its debut -- and so have landfills. In this twofer HowStuffWorks podcast, discover the realities of modern recycling and find out why the world's largest landfill might be more aptly described as an "oceanfill." Learn more about your ad-choices ... Show More
24m 28s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami