Is Recycling Worth It?

[Atlas14]

There is a lot of debate whether recycling is actually worth the effort, due to the fossil fuels and materials used and consumed to actually recycle other materials. Do the benefits outweigh the input?

 

[Adamb0mb]

Is this really controversial? I thought recycling was universally accepted.

 

[Sephiroth]

I would rather have some smog in the air then a city full of trash

 

[Arcadian83]

Depends what you are recycling:

Metal: Yes, just melt it and bang it into a new shape, save a miner some trouble.

Glass: Yes, but re-use of existing containers is the jackpot.

Plastic: Mixing different resins is bad, thus the number scheme. Mixed results. I am generally optimistic that it will improve with maturity and technology.

Paper: Not really, it is biodegradable and trees are renewable, it may be easier to grow more trees than recycle it. Again, depends on type. White office paper may be easier than cardboard, or somesuch.


I think the greatest hurdles for recycling are laziness and apathy. Stupidly easy sorting of recycleables needs to be implemented. Even so, I sometimes see soda cans in the trash when a properly labelled bin is literally right next to it.

 

[woody60707]

Is this really controversial? I thought recycling was universally accepted.

As Arcadian83 said, for a few things recycling takes more engery then just getting it new. Like trees, it's cheeper and takes less energy to grow a new tree for paper then to recycle paper.

Metals, it much cheaper to recycle. thats why you see homeless people picking out cans and bottles to recycle, they can make money turnning those in. with recycling paper, in the US anyways, the tax paying people have to to pay the recycling plants to recycle paper.

20/20 and penn and tellers:BS both did a show on recycling. they also both reported that we are not running out of room or landfill space for trash. it's very much the other way. also we have a very safe recored for the new landfills and also we can make them in to power plants.

Edit: and if you are worried about the trees, don't be, we have more of them now then we ever had before. I know this all sounds crazy, i used to think we were running out of space and trees too. but google it. Most of the trees we are lossing in the rain forst isn't for lumber mills, it's from clear cutting so the poor poeple can have land to farm on.

 

[Red Stranger]

Yep, they melt your plastic bottles and make t-shirts out of them.

 

[emzie]

Yep, they melt your plastic bottles and make t-shirts out of them.

You can turn plastic into cotton? Wow. You should get out of the oil industry and into this. There's a fortune to be made there with less investment! People give you their plastic. No need to go out and drill for it!

 

[Weird_bug]

Not into cotton, into polyprops. Polypropolene, I think.

 

[Weird_bug]

Whohoo! Everyone thinks recycling is good!

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

I'd be interested to see how much recycling is actually worth. I do recycle a lot, get organic foods and try my best to be aware of such things, but at the same time I'd like to know what it's actually contributing...

 

[Perfection]

You can google video search an excellent Penn and Teller show that will have information about recycling.

 

[Red Stranger]

You can turn plastic into cotton? Wow. You should get out of the oil industry and into this. There's a fortune to be made there with less investment! People give you their plastic. No need to go out and drill for it!

Not cotton, polyester.

 

[Atlas14]

For the record I think recycling is definately worth it, but some seem to be as staunchly against it as they others are against global warming. As others have said, it definately depends on what you're recycling as to its benefits and whether it actually outweighs the inputs, but overall it is a necessary part of our society. Glad to get such a good turnout of pro-recycling peeps.

 

[Red Door]

Yes, there's no harm, it's worth it.

 

[Arcadian83]

Recycling and global warming are almost entirely unrelated issues. I do not believe in global warming, but I like the idea of recycling.

Recycling is just a concept of sorting waste so some may be re-used instead of putting it all in the same place. Seems like common sense to me, so long as it is efficient or even profitable.

 

[emzie]

Not cotton, polyester.

And when was the last time you bought a t-shirt made out of polyester.

 

[Atlas14]

Recycling and global warming are almost entirely unrelated issues. I do not believe in global warming, but I like the idea of recycling.

I realize that they are separate issues, I was simply stating how much of a controversey there is on this topic in comparison to another debated topic.

 

[Arcadian83]

I must admit it is nice to see an entirely one-sided poll every now and then. It reminds me that for all the attention disagreements get, there are still things that most everyone can agree on.

 

[Fetus4188]

For me recycling isn't about cutting polution, it's about conserving resources, and in that regard it is worthwhile.

 

[Perfection]

Yes, there's no harm, it's worth it.

Energy ineffiency is most certainly a harm.