Replies

My line of business... I work for (and partially own) a local independent residential sanitation company. You look like the bad guy when you tell people recycling is a myth, but the truth does hurt and when you are telling it, it can hurt yourself. It happens to be politically incorrect if you do not support recycling. The trend nationally is to scale back recycling, but many don't understand why. The why is $$$. Recycling does not make any money for my company. We give the materials away, with the exception of the aluminum cans, and our recycling processor that takes all of this (Weyerhauser) is going to quit accepting glass at the start of 2003. We would not be suprised if Weyerhauser started charging us to dump this material charging us rates comparable to our trash transfer station! That is how bad the situation has gotten. Basically, recyclables are garbage. Local governments have instituted a means of "waste stream recovery" by forcing people to recycle. The fact is, it is cheaper, more sanitary and hell of lot more efficient to dump it in a landfill. But most people just don't get it. If there was any way to make money off recycling it would not have to be mandated and forced onto people. The free market would take care of the demand, if there was any money to be made. The fact that recycling does not make money and that government must mandate it go hand in hand. The wicked environazi's have had their way for too long. Now the bell tolls, recycling is dying. May it rest in peace. Cities and Counties must get back to sound fiscal policies and not fund knee-jerk feel-good socialist myths like recycling.

By the way, great article. I printed it out along with the many other "recycling is dead" articles that I have. I need this stuff just in case we have to battle to county or city. (Which we do on a constant basis!)

Personal responsibility comes to mind. If recycling cost is the problem, I'd bet it can be surmounted by offsetting the expense by charging for multiple, overloaded garbage cans on trash-day. After all, if you're too lazy to do the right thing, then pay the price for it.
Do you believe that there's ever-expanding room for waste dumps?