Yay! I'm glad to hear this argument. The instructor of my economics class last spring spent a whole class one time talking about how recycling is more or less bullshit and we're not running out of resources and so on. I don't know a lot about the subject so I can't say I agree or disagree, but the majority of people are on the opposing side of that view so it's nice to see some variety of opinion.
Yeah, it's hard because we've been imprinted since elementary school to think that recycling anything is better than using other materials to make a new one. Aluminum started the party, and that makes sense because it's a finite resource. However, things like paper and glass started elbowing their way in and before we knew it, everyone wanted to come to the block party of recycling. There is a reason you get actual money for aluminum cans and you get like a dollar for 80 pounds of glass bottles or newspapers. And I imagine your economics teacher was aiming at the same point: The more scarce a resource is, the more it's worth. If the recycling center is paying $.05/lb for something, the resource probably isn't scarce.
And then there's the mythos of overflowing landfills and the evil of creating waste, while there's little talk about just how expensive and dirty it is to recycle *renewable resources*. As I said, though, that's another rant... ^_^
My other subject was funnierpurgatorioJuly 28 2007, 16:39:28 UTC
@$%#^)#$%^* the back button on my mouse leading to the loss of my comment!
Anyway, the Pfand thing in Germany is by law, which means an artificially inflated value. Here recycling is largely privatized, afaik. At least the part that takes place once you leave the store. /hug capitalism
The idea of having to pay $.50 to make sure people recycle SAND is kind of offensive to me. @_@ I guess travelers get to makeup for the cost of how difficult it is to recycle glass and plastic in the first place?
Germans are crazy. It's their fault I have a lame last name, too!
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And then there's the mythos of overflowing landfills and the evil of creating waste, while there's little talk about just how expensive and dirty it is to recycle *renewable resources*. As I said, though, that's another rant... ^_^
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Anyway, the Pfand thing in Germany is by law, which means an artificially inflated value. Here recycling is largely privatized, afaik. At least the part that takes place once you leave the store. /hug capitalism
The idea of having to pay $.50 to make sure people recycle SAND is kind of offensive to me. @_@ I guess travelers get to makeup for the cost of how difficult it is to recycle glass and plastic in the first place?
Germans are crazy. It's their fault I have a lame last name, too!
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
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