Recycling requires
substantial infrastructure
for pickup, transportation,
sorting, cleaning, and
processing.
Is it garbage,
or is it a valuable
commodity
for recycling ?
If someone
will pay for it,
then it’s a
valuable
commodity
for a recycler.
Otherwise,
it's garbage.
Garbage
becomes
a commodity
only when
cost of pickup,
transport, sorting,
cleaning, and
processing
can be paid out
of the proceeds,
with some profit
left over.
Mandatory recycling
programs force
people to recycle,
with fines
if they don't,
and maybe
there would be
public shaming too.
We have plenty
of landfill space,
in most of the country,
so that's not a problem.
ALUMINUM
Should we recycle
aluminum cans?
Yes.
Because the cost
of recycling
the aluminum
compares
very favorably
to virgin aluminum
-- the mining and
smelting are
both expensive,
and harmful
to the environment.
That decision is simple.
GLASS
Should we recycle glass?
No.
Glass is a heavy material,
so carting it to distant
processing centers,
pollutes the air
Ground “recycled” glass,
or “cullet,” is less useful
than the virgin silica sand
from which glass is made.
Cullet has impurities
and chemical colorings
that make it difficult
to use for glass
without further
processing.
Landfilling glass
does not harm the
environment.
Another simple decision.
PLASTICS:
Should we recycle plastics?
Maybe.
Larger, heavier items
that are clean, with
labels removed, are okay.
There's no commercial
demand for anything else.
PAPER:
Corrugated
cardboard,
if clean, is
highly
recyclable.
For most
other garbage,
recycling harms
the environment,
due to the
substantial
infrastructure
and fossil fuels
that are required
for pickup,
transportation,
sorting, cleaning,
and processing.
Recycling
enables people
to feel good
about their
efforts to protect
the environment
... perhaps
while doing
other things
that pollute !