Recycleing is a rip off.

[DainBramaged]

My recycling bin is blue.

 

[adairusmc]

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
Dont recycle, I dont and wont.

:thumbsup:

...except for aluminum and other metals.

It takes more energy to recycle most items than it does to make new stuff completely from scratch.

 

[ViviTheMage]

recycling makes my garbage service cheaper, as recycling is free here

 

[Eeezee]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton
I hate how car manufacturers use recycled steel, because they're getting cheap metal from recyclers and I get nothing! I'd rather pay more for a car made from FRESH steel. :angry;


OP, your rant makes NO sense. "government and enviroweenies". You don't sound like a smart guy.


OK, you know what? Stop recycling plastic. If it makes you feel good to give more of your money to Saudi Arabia, go ahead.

Because fresh steel is so much better than recycled steel? Steel is not like a piece of fruit that goes bad over time. Steel is steel. It's not like steel molecules decay or some such nonsense.

 

[0roo0roo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYrE6vnXP5Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASKJ5f5ptg8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjIQNWUUBvM
penn and teller recycling is bullsh*t

 

[Darwin333]

Originally posted by: dighn
A empty jar is pretty much useless to you if you are just gonna throw it away. The recycling chain turns it back into something useful and that costs money. You are helping the environment, and you should be getting the jar for cheaper due to recycling. What's the issue here?

I believe the issue is that HE is paying someone to recycle the jar. If it was being done at no cost to him I doubt he would have a problem with it.

Excluding metals, recycling is a ripoff. They actually pay YOU when you bring most metals to the scrapmetal recyclers.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Pale Rider
Basically government and enviroweenies have scammed us into paying for the cost of jars and other products, they expect us to cover the cost and then pay more money to give it back for free so they can make a profit off it.

Does this seem really backwards to anyone else? Maybe my perception of the process is wrong which I am willing to admit. Does anyone have any insight on this?

You DO own the jar. You are perfectly free to keep it, put change in it, whatever. But as it turns out, old jars are worth so little that NO ONE is going to buy it from you...maybe if you had 100,000 of them, fully cleaned out, you might get a pittance for them. Otherwise, they are like that old fugly couch by the dumpster...sure, it has value, but the transportation costs would be so high to get it to whoever wants it, that people pay money to get rid of it.

The reason why recyclers aren't paying you money to take your recycling is that you are giving them a tiny amount of completely unprocessed, mixed recycling. It costs them much more per "unit" to process the stuff than if they buy several tons of homogenous, clean cardboard from a commercial user. So, they pay you a lot less...actually, nothing. If you were to add value to your product (ie separate it out correctly, clean off the food gunk, and amass a lot of it), you would suddenly find that people ARE willing to give you money for the stuff.

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
Dont recycle, I dont and wont.

Even aluminum? There is NO reason not to recycle aluminum.

 

[RaistlinZ]

OP, the cost of making a jar from a recycled jar is probably less than the cost of making one from scratch. That saves the first company a little money, which saves the bottling company a little money, which saves the supermarket a little money, which saves you a little money on the final purchase price.

So, no, you're not getting screwed.

 

[Darwin333]

Originally posted by: irishScott
The whole point of recycling is to help the environment. Not make money. For anyone except the recycling infrastructure that is.

Like RagingBitch said, it'll either wind up in a landfill or on a store shelf. They aren't going to lower prices simply because they stop receiving recycled materials, so what's the issue? The monthly charge? I guess that depends on where you live. Here it's provided along with trash pickup at no extra charge.

Ok, so it lands in a modern landfill, whats your issue with that? In a few years the modern ultra safe landfill will be turned into a public park.

And you are not provided recycling at no charge. The government must subsidize recyclers because it is simply not economically feasible to recycle most materials (excluding metals). Just because its not a line item on your bill does not mean you aren't paying for it with other tax dollars.

 

[Darwin333]

Originally posted by: RaistlinZ
OP, the cost of making a jar from a recycled jar is probably less than the cost of making one from scratch. That saves the first company a little money, which saves the bottling company a little money, which saves the supermarket a little money, which saves you a little money on the final purchase price.

So, no, you're not getting screwed.

Wrong answer.

It costs more to recycle almost everything except metal than to simply make a new one from scratch.

Not to mention that the government subsidizes the recycling companies (because they can't turn a profit on their own) which comes out of your tax dollars. Bottom line: You spend more and don't get anything in return except for a false sense of "helping the environment".

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: Eeezee

Originally posted by: Throckmorton
I hate how car manufacturers use recycled steel, because they're getting cheap metal from recyclers and I get nothing! I'd rather pay more for a car made from FRESH steel. :angry;


OP, your rant makes NO sense. "government and enviroweenies". You don't sound like a smart guy.


OK, you know what? Stop recycling plastic. If it makes you feel good to give more of your money to Saudi Arabia, go ahead.

Because fresh steel is so much better than recycled steel? Steel is not like a piece of fruit that goes bad over time. Steel is steel. It's not like steel molecules decay or some such nonsense.

I was being sarcastic. My point was that a car made from new steel would cost more, just like a jar made from new sand or oil.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: Darwin333

Originally posted by: RaistlinZ
OP, the cost of making a jar from a recycled jar is probably less than the cost of making one from scratch. That saves the first company a little money, which saves the bottling company a little money, which saves the supermarket a little money, which saves you a little money on the final purchase price.

So, no, you're not getting screwed.

Wrong answer.

It costs more to recycle almost everything except metal than to simply make a new one from scratch.

Not to mention that the government subsidizes the recycling companies (because they can't turn a profit on their own) which comes out of your tax dollars. Bottom line: You spend more and don't get anything in return except for a false sense of "helping the environment".

Recyling some things cost more, but that's because it costs money to collect the materials, not because of the recycling process. I have no idea why you think recycling gives a false sense of helping the environment. Saving material and energy is a GOOD thing.


Recycling plastic makes the least sense, but recycling paper, metal, and glass is good no matter how you look at it.

 

[spidey07]

It's mainly a scam.

I will never recycle as long as they are charging for it. If anything YOU should pay me to recycle.

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYrE6vnXP5Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASKJ5f5ptg8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjIQNWUUBvM
penn and teller recycling is bullsh*t

That was pretty good, thanks for the links.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: marvdmartian
Personally, I'd like to see the government push to stop using so much of the petroleum that goes toward making plastics, and have the companies embrace reuseable (recycleable) packaging again. Let's face it, it might take a tree to initially make a cardboard container, but I can recycle that cardboard numerous times, and I can plant another tree to take it's place. Unless someone knows of a handy supply of dinosaurs somewhere, when the oil's gone, it's gone for good.

takes more oil to make+ship paper bags than plastic.

Originally posted by: Eeezee

Because fresh steel is so much better than recycled steel? Steel is not like a piece of fruit that goes bad over time. Steel is steel. It's not like steel molecules decay or some such nonsense.

last i heard (in an alcoa antitrust case) aircraft manufacturers don't use recycled aluminum.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Recycling saves the environment and actually lowers your property taxes as your city/town needs to spend less to dispose of your trash.

Hopefully, more towns/cities will go to a pay to throw out your garbage model and you'll have more people recycling. Yes, recycling costs money but it's less expense then regular trash disposal as the money made by selling the recycled items helps offset the cost.

Recycling is not a scam. People need to educate themselves.

Landfill space is running out, causing towns/cities to spend more money to transport their trash to dispose. I know states like MA and NY transport their trash out of state b/c of landfills in their states filling-up and closing.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: spidey07
It's mainly a scam.

I will never recycle as long as they are charging for it. If anything YOU should pay me to recycle.

But you'll pay for trash pickup?

 

[natto fire]

Yeah, that Penn+Teller episode on recycling was good.

The bottom line is that there are too many people and our food distribution system is kind of silly. In a perfect world, you would take your jar to a big vat and refill it with mayo, and when it gets empty, rinse it out and take back to refill again. While the mayo example is not that great for demonstrating how over-packaged food is, there are plenty of products that have more volume/mass in packaging than the actual food, and I hope that I am not the only one that thinks that is pretty ridiculous.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Darwin333

It costs more to recycle almost everything except metal than to simply make a new one from scratch.

Only if you don't consider the cost of the inevitable cleanup and restoration of the area from which you extract your raw materials. "New" materials are artificially cheap, because companies don't need to worry about these things...either they get their materials from the third world, or they let the Superfund take care of cleanup 30 years down the road. The true cost of extraction and production isn't included in the price.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Recycling saves the environment and actually lowers your property taxes as your city/town needs to spend less to dispose of your trash.

Hopefully, more towns/cities will go to a pay to throw out your garbage model and you'll have more people recycling. Yes, recycling costs money but it's less expense then regular trash disposal as the money made by selling the recycled items helps offset the cost.

Recycling is not a scam. People need to educate themselves.

Landfill space is running out, causing towns/cities to spend more money to transport their trash to dispose. I know states like MA and NY transport their trash out of state b/c of landfills in their states filling-up and closing.

Uhh, I pay for trash service. I would have to pay an extra like 8 bucks a month for recycling above that. I decline the recycling fee/service. Make it free.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Darwin333

It costs more to recycle almost everything except metal than to simply make a new one from scratch.

Only if you don't consider the cost of the inevitable cleanup and restoration of the area from which you extract your raw materials. "New" materials are artificially cheap, because companies don't need to worry about these things...either they get their materials from the third world, or they let the Superfund take care of cleanup 30 years down the road. The true cost of extraction and production isn't included in the price.

Corporations also get very cheap resource exploitation contracts to mine, log, or drill on federal land. Make the costs real to the resource developers, then evaluate which costs more.

 

[jiggahertz]

That's why I throw everything in the trash. I'm sticking it to the man.

 

[FoBoT]

yes, that is why algore is a gazillionaire

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Originally posted by: Darwin333

Originally posted by: RaistlinZ
OP, the cost of making a jar from a recycled jar is probably less than the cost of making one from scratch. That saves the first company a little money, which saves the bottling company a little money, which saves the supermarket a little money, which saves you a little money on the final purchase price.

So, no, you're not getting screwed.

Wrong answer.

It costs more to recycle almost everything except metal than to simply make a new one from scratch.

Not to mention that the government subsidizes the recycling companies (because they can't turn a profit on their own) which comes out of your tax dollars. Bottom line: You spend more and don't get anything in return except for a false sense of "helping the environment".

Recyling some things cost more, but that's because it costs money to collect the materials, not because of the recycling process. I have no idea why you think recycling gives a false sense of helping the environment. Saving material and energy is a GOOD thing.


Recycling plastic makes the least sense, but recycling paper, metal, and glass is good no matter how you look at it.

wrong.

the only item that makes economic sense to recycle is aluminum cans.

everything else takes way more energy to recycle than to make a new one.

To recycle paper, you need to use very toxic chemicals. That's not good for the environment.

recycling is bullshit.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: Iron Woode

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Originally posted by: Darwin333

Originally posted by: RaistlinZ
OP, the cost of making a jar from a recycled jar is probably less than the cost of making one from scratch. That saves the first company a little money, which saves the bottling company a little money, which saves the supermarket a little money, which saves you a little money on the final purchase price.

So, no, you're not getting screwed.

Wrong answer.

It costs more to recycle almost everything except metal than to simply make a new one from scratch.

Not to mention that the government subsidizes the recycling companies (because they can't turn a profit on their own) which comes out of your tax dollars. Bottom line: You spend more and don't get anything in return except for a false sense of "helping the environment".

Recyling some things cost more, but that's because it costs money to collect the materials, not because of the recycling process. I have no idea why you think recycling gives a false sense of helping the environment. Saving material and energy is a GOOD thing.


Recycling plastic makes the least sense, but recycling paper, metal, and glass is good no matter how you look at it.

wrong.

the only item that makes economic sense to recycle is aluminum cans.

everything else takes way more energy to recycle than to make a new one.

To recycle paper, you need to use very toxic chemicals. That's not good for the environment.

recycling is bullshit.

Recycling paper uses less toxic chemicals than making new paper. It CAN take more fossil fuels because a paper mill gets some of its energy from wood, but it takes soil, water, and fossil resources it takes to grow trees.