Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I grew up in the 1990s. Recycling was a major topic back then. Most of our county schools had recycling bins for cardboard, paper, various metals, plastic, glass, etc.
Over the last several years, I've noticed that basically all the recycling in my area has been eliminated. Cardboard and paper are the only bins I can find with regularity. Glass seems to be gone about everywhere. Plastic is rare, but can occasionally be found. The city doesn't offer any recycling services.
There's recycling where I am in Michigan. Isn't what it could be, but paper, cardboard, bottles, cans, and yard waste all get recycled. Some plastics also get recycled, but some aren't. And with a bottle deposit on all carbonated drink bottles and cans, they get recycled as well. There's even a recycling center nearby for electronics.
Recycling programs are not dead; however, it’s dependent on state and local governments as there is no national law that mandates it. Other countries that have been far more successful are Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and so on.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,658 posts, read 81,403,499 times
Reputation: 57906
I don't know about the rest of the country, but here the garbage company provides bins for garbage, mixed recycling, and yard/food waste. In the city of Seattle there are fines if they find recyclables in the garbage bin.
Still, lately there seems to be more of a push for the more sensible "compostable" especially in the fast food industry, with Styrofoam banned now in our state, and compostable products becoming more common.
Recycling hasn't been killed so much as it's been too successful in many respects.
The hook for local governments was that it could be a revenue stream. That didn't quite work out and now those jurisdictions have to pay to have the recyclables taken rather than being paid for them.
Another thing that happened was that many industries that could have used recyclables in their production, glass as an example, have contracted or become much more efficient. When I worked in the glass bottle industry most soft drinks were still in no deposit glass bottles, as were ketchup, salad dressing, mustard, etc., and we'd pay something like $0.5/pound for it. There was always a line on Wednesday when we were taking it (a lot of guys at the coal mines would collect the bottles at work. The closures/caps were aluminum then).
That factory has disappeared, literally. Well, so have the mines. But it's an example, using waste glass allowed us to lower the furnace temperature and save on natural gas cost.
Then there are the plastic that can't be recycled for various reasons but still hit the waste stream.
Recycling hasn't been killed so much as it's been too successful in many respects.
The hook for local governments was that it could be a revenue stream. That didn't quite work out and now those jurisdictions have to pay to have the recyclables taken rather than being paid for them.
Another thing that happened was that many industries that could have used recyclables in their production, glass as an example, have contracted or become much more efficient. When I worked in the glass bottle industry most soft drinks were still in no deposit glass bottles, as were ketchup, salad dressing, mustard, etc., and we'd pay something like $0.5/pound for it. There was always a line on Wednesday when we were taking it (a lot of guys at the coal mines would collect the bottles at work. The closures/caps were aluminum then).
That factory has disappeared, literally. Well, so have the mines. But it's an example, using waste glass allowed us to lower the furnace temperature and save on natural gas cost.
Then there are the plastic that can't be recycled for various reasons but still hit the waste stream.
And, given what we know about plastics, do we really want them recycled? Micro and nano-plastic particles, as well as the chemicals they leech are often ignored when discussing recycling plastics. I understand it's sometimes necessary to use plastic, but we should be reducing the use of plastics when possible, particularly single-use.
Recycling plastics is like trying to put a child-sized band-aid on a large deep gash. It might stop some of the bleeding, but it ignores the underlying need for stitches and protection from infection.
The economic, environmental and time costs of sorting and recycling anything but clean, large and heavier items is energy net negative. At best it is energy/cost neutral.
Which is why recycling only valuables like copper and scrapmetals and some wood/cardboards have been done in the past.
But the small stuff?
Nope.
I don't recycle paper or lightweight plastic bottles.
I crush and put them in plastic bags that are incinerated in hi tech, closed furnace electric production where I live.
I recycle only big glass, very large or bulky plastics and solid metal items which fills my bin ~every six weeks.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
