3/30/2005

Recycling Domestic Waste

In the article Recycling Domestic Waste, it is referring to the two economic factors that limit the amount of recycling that can be done. The first reason is that recyclable materials must be collected, and the costs of these can be high. The second reason is the market for goods created from recycled materials is limited. People say that they can sort out waste before recycling, but they may not have the skills required. This is when it can get expensive because then you have to higher people to do it, and more money is involved. There are also economic benefits if fewer items are thrown away then the governments costs will be lowered in paying for landfills. So what do you feel about recycling is it worth it in the long run, will it save money?

1 comment:

Dr. Tufte said...

Gosh, I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but the economics just don't support recycling of most products. There really are not any entrenched interests that have a position against recycling, and there are quite a few (including public perception) that are in favor of it. Industries for which recycling is effective tend to be much further along the curve on this than the public: think about how long aluminum, waste oil, and lumber products have been recycled.

The simple fact is that recycling is subsidized and still failing in most arenas. Further, think about this: requirements to sort or clean your recycling are an implicit subsidy as well.