Recycling

[James.]

Is there a marginal benefit to society from recycling?

Obviously we are lead to believe there is but I've read some comments (including those of Daggers) which suggest that might not be true...

[Bellend Sebastian]

If it avoids things going into landfill, then surely it's a good thing? You're not going to use something again if it's put in the ground.

If the figures they quote at our local 'recycling centre' (tip, to you and I) are to be believed, they recycle between 80 and 90 per cent of the stuff that ends up there, which strikes me as quite impressive.

It's fair to say that the people in the streets around me haven't exactly embraced recycling, in that only about 5 per cent put their boxes out, but I assume this is because they're lazy and ****witted as opposed to them taking some sort of ideological standpoint, as where my parents live in leafy Charnwood, pretty much every single household does what's asked of it.

I'm sure there are times when the system breaks down or gets overloaded, and stuff ends up not getting recycled, but I do find this is used as an excuse by people not to bother because it's more convenient for them rather than because they know it to be true

[BlabyFox]

Is there a marginal benefit to society from recycling?

Obviously we are lead to believe there is but I've read some comments (including those of Daggers) which suggest that might not be true...

1. Of course recycling brings benefits you idiot.

2. Don't listen to Daggers

[DB11]

1. Of course recycling brings benefits you idiot.

2. Don't listen to Daggers

No need to get personal

[Fosse Boy]

I think prisoners should sort through our rubbish and do our recycling for us.

[coale39]

I think prisoners should sort through our rubbish and do our recycling for us.

Yeh, and they could find there dinner in it as well.

[davieG]

I think prisoners should sort through our rubbish and do our recycling for us.

And lots of private information to help them when they get out! Not that I put stuff like that in my bin but many still do.

[Daggers]

Is there a marginal benefit to society from recycling?

Define marginal.

Yea, there's a marginal benefit but not enough of one to out-way me thinking it is a pile of bollocks.

I'm more than happy to be convinced otherwise.

[Bellend Sebastian]

There's a definite benefit in that it makes me feel all righteous

[act smiley]

Depends on whats being recycled, but generally there is a much, much higher benefit from recycling than faffing around with useless shite like hybrid cars and such. High-energy stuff like aluminium especially - its rather expensive to get 'fresh', but both cheap and hippytastic when recycled.

Smaller rubbish tips, cheaper stuff, something to shut the hippies up, its actually something that makes sense.

[AmericanScott]

I was raised on recycling. In the borough of Staten Island in NY, you get a fine if you don't recycle. When my family and i moved there in 1990, we got a fine of a stupid amount to pay because someone put a coke bottle in the trash. The sanitation dept. dropped the fine as a good will

[Alexikokopops]

Define marginal.

Yea, there's a marginal benefit but not enough of one to out-way me thinking it is a pile of bollocks.

I'm more than happy to be convinced otherwise.

The Lithuanian girls who sorted the recycling out at our local tip were FIT. Definite benefit.

[James.]

1. Of course recycling brings benefits you idiot.

Easy tiger.

Define marginal.

Marginal as in does the benefit from recycling one more item outweigh the cost.

Basically is recycling worth it? Do you not think that if everyone took your attitude to it then we would be worse off overall?

The Lithuanian girls who sorted the recycling out at our local tip were FIT. Definite benefit.

I own some Lithuanian phrase books. I could have sorted you right out. If you want one let me know.

[BoneDog]

I always recycle food.

[cisono]

It's fair to say that the people in the streets around me haven't exactly embraced recycling, in that only about 5 per cent put their boxes out, but I assume this is because they're lazy and ****witted as opposed to them taking some sort of ideological standpoint, as where my parents live in leafy Charnwood, pretty much every single household does what's asked of it.

Most of the people passing by here seem to think my front and back garden are recycling points for all sorts of wrappers and bottles.

As to using boxes, I don't use mine, as they only recycle stuff we don't "produce" (like empty milk plastic bottles) and last time I put outside my box, it ended up disappearing into thin air. Instead, we take weekly trips to the local recycling points for stuff like paper and glass; far less frequently for tins (beats me why these are not collected through the box scheme) and electricals.

We also compost our fruit and vegetables peels/cuttings (much of our cardboard goes there as well).

According to various sources, in the UK, we are recycling far less than other countries. What I know is that in Italy they have 3 or 4 different colour-coded recycling bins, one for each type of material to recycle. I am not aware of a collection, she seems to take the recyclable stuff to the recycling point herself. I also noticed this colour scheme being used for bins at the airport in Lanzarote or Fuerteventura (I forget which).

[Jon the Hat]

From a purely immediate economic point of view, recycling can be expensive as it is often labour intensive and has some considerable setup costs (more bins for a start). On the other hand, as the world population increases, it is not the best idea to continue to deplete resources at the same speed as we have been purely for economic benefit of a limited number of companies.

To be honest, if the cleanup costs of mining aluminium for example were really included in the cost of new aluminium then it would be far far cheaper to recycle. This applies to various products to a lesser or greater extent. The costs of silted rivers on farming and the increasing cost of water may not be fully borne by logging companies whose deforestation is a leading cause or reduced water flow. Failure to hold companies accountable when they make a mess is effectively an artificial subsidy which encourages damage to our resource base and the lives of people who are impacted by the environmental damage. Not to mention the tax and increased cost burden on other areas. Just about everything is linked somehow. I am no Green eniron mentalist, but taking a long term view on resource use is just common sense.

[Alexikokopops]

I own some Lithuanian phrase books. I could have sorted you right out. If you want one let me know.

Alas that boat has sailed. My binman days are behind me

[Hullfox]

Recycling helps no one, it's all a myth.

All my rubbish goes in one bin.

If some fooker wants to think they're making the world a better place by sorting out the plastics and the glass feel free to dive into my wheely bin and rummage about.

[Bellend Sebastian]

Although the mighty ball mill sorts out a lot of the recyclables from the rubbish from wheelie bin collections in the Leicester City area, the stuff that willing punters like myself put out in green boxes is apparently the stuff that the council actually gets money for, thereby providing funds for all the VALUABLE work they do, and reduce the pressure to increase council tax bills.

In years gone by, people would scrub their front step every week, and now they cannot even be arsed to bring their bin in, let alone separate their rubbish

[Dr The Singh]

Although the mighty ball mill sorts out a lot of the recyclables from the rubbish from wheelie bin collections in the Leicester City area, the stuff that willing punters like myself put out in green boxes is apparently the stuff that the council actually gets money for, thereby providing funds for all the VALUABLE work they do, and reduce the pressure to increase council tax bills.

In years gone by, people would scrub their front step every week, and now they cannot even be arsed to bring their bin in, let alone separate their rubbish

Having pride in one surroundings is a rare thing, we've all become hermits and only give a fook about what's in our home and not what surrounds it!!

The motto people should use is waste no, want not...i think that's right!!

Recycling maybe a myth but we all waste too much. There's too much packaging, too much 'hygiene conscious', if it's slightly old or out of date people chuck the whole thing, rather then using what's good of it!!!

[Jon the Hat]

Recycling helps no one, it's all a myth.

All my rubbish goes in one bin.

If some fooker wants to think they're making the world a better place by sorting out the plastics and the glass feel free to dive into my wheely bin and rummage about.

I used to think like you. But actually, if you have limited resources available, it makes sense in the long run to resuse as much as possible. Your logic (and mine as was) presumably is aimed at the "myth" that it is economic in the short term.

What is annoying is that most of the stuff we are expected to recycle is not actually required in the first place, namely stacks of packaging. Not suggesting we go back to buying our Cornflakes from barrels, but we really don't need all the plastic which things in general seem to be wrapped in. Why for example does a pack of Gillette razors come in plastic you need a pair of shears to get into? What is wrong with cardboard? Crazy.