GUWonder

I would say it’s not a complaint as much as it is recognizing human nature for what it is and the tendency of hired people to cut corners when doing work assigned by others and knowing that they don’t have a full-time spy on their back. Just likes it’s not a complaint as much as recognizing the nature of business interests when business interests use “the environment”, “charity” or any other spin language as part and parcel of trying to jack up their revenue and/or profits (via cutting corners, reducing their own taxes or whatever else) because it makes financial sense for the business and is expected to help maximize their financial returns.

I have 10+ categories of recycling at many of my residences and want it done right. But I more than suspect that some staff/contractors have a way less dedicated, informed and detail-oriented approach to doing jobs passed/outsourced to them than when the job is done by the people coming up with the orders in the first place. Sure, it’s possible to dumb down a sorting and recycling job for others to do, but then doesn’t that defeat the purpose of maximizing the recycling effort and the return from recycling efforts? Sure, it’s possible to pay way more to try to hire someone with the same detail-oriented obsession as myself and who has the same commitment level to recycling and environmental causes, but if that means they have to commute in their own vehicles and displace locals who may be able to use public transport like I do where I can, then doesn’t that defeat the purpose of trying to “keep it local” as a way of “saving the world”?

You can make an effort to try to educate people why that which you think is important should also be just as important to them too, but people operate in a world where there are competing values applicable upon their time and money and where each “educated” individual has their own interests and circumstances in play in such a way that they are unlikely to ever be in 100% alignment 100% of the time with the “educator”.

Do you take as much issue with how poorly Marriott hotels deal with garbage sorting and recycling as with how I do things? Marriott does a poor job even with sorting out its mass of food waste, so should we be welcoming a move to Marriott eliminating hotel restaurants and included breakfasts in particular?

Marriott is not making this toiletry move to educate its customer base. Marriott is making this move to maximize its financial returns regardless of the impact of the change upon the environment. I can’t wait until Marriott borrows another move used by cost-cutting lodging services exploiting “the environment”: bed linen/towel provision/service charges to reduce “the damage” done by “excessive” laundry.