Recycleing is a rip off.

[HannibalX]

I was thinking about this today as I watched the recycling company come and pickup my used plastics, glass bottles, paper goods, etc.

Lets follow the life of a mayonnaise jar.

1.) Some company processes a petroleum product into a plastic and creates the mayonnaise jar. This company sells the jar to the food maker.

2.) The food maker fills the jar with mayonnaise, slaps a label on it and sells it to a grocery retailer at a wholesale price. The cost of the jar is built into this price, effectively passing the overhead of the jar from the food maker onto the retailer.

3.) The retailer puts the jar of mayonnaise in the store and marks up the cost to a retail price and again builds the overhead of the jar into the cost, passing the final cost of the jar onto you, the consumer. The jar is yours, you bought and paid for it, it's your property - you can do whatever you want with it.

4.) If you live in an urban area chances are you pay a monthly cost (that either you pay directly or is built into your rent fee) to your city, county or utility company for trash pickup. Along with trash pickup is recycling pickup.

5.) So you toss your empty mayonnaise jar into your green or orange recycling bin. Not only are you giving away the jar for absolutely free, you are actually paying more money for the opportunity to give it away for free.

6.) The recycler takes the jar and sells it back to the food maker or maybe another plastics maker. The jar is recycled where it is refilled or maybe turned into another plastic product like a toothbrush or maybe becomes part of something larger like a microwave. The recycler that you paid money to give your jar to is now making a profit on your jar - and you get squat.

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?

 

[RagingBITCH]

Um, they're doing you a service. If you want to recycle it yourself and sell it back, go ahead. No one's stopping you. Otherwise you'd be throwing it away and getting no money back for it. Go cry me a fvcking river.

 

[axelfox]

So you pay for regular trash service + recycling service?

 

[d33pt]

So...you'd rather get your mayo in a paper bag? I don't really follow you here.

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: d33pt
So...you'd rather get your mayo in a paper bag? I don't really follow you here.

A paper bag is recycled the same as a jar is... right?

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: Pale Rider

Originally posted by: d33pt
So...you'd rather get your mayo in a paper bag? I don't really follow you here.

A paper bag is recycled the same as a jar is... right?

Then you're whining about the cents you lose one dumping a mayo jar? Or a mayo paper bag?

 

[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?

 

[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.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Dont recycle, I dont and wont.

 

[irishScott]

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

Why not?

 

[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.

 

[HannibalX]

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.

At no charge? Nothing is free. It's built into your property taxes then.

 

[HannibalX]

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.

Well I have never heard anyone other group encouraging me to recycle. When is the last time the Jehova's Witnesses came to your door and urged you to recycle your empty jars.

It's not really rant, just an observation.

 

[herm0016]

you are paying for the company to process the wast instead of put it in a landfill, and their taxes. just like anything else you bought it and want to get rid of it, it is going to cost money to dispose of it so you have to pay for that too. the product you are getting rid of is not worth enough to process it for free. unlike recycling a car, where you get paid the scrap price because it is actually worth more recycled than it is buried in a pile of dirt.

edit: fresh steal will corrode faster and be weaker than reprocessed steal. also, it is cheaper, easy to get, and when you get rid of the car, you get paid for it, that way you make up the difference!

 

[marvdmartian]

Well, plastic (from what I understand) is never simply "reused". Unlike aluminum cans which can be melted down and reused, and glass bottles which can be sterilized at high temperatures, plastic simply won't stand up to that kind of heat, and retain it's usefullness in the particular shape it initially took.

Add to that that when you shred plastic to recycle it, it oftentimes loses some of it's strength, which reduces it's usefullness. That's why things like shopping bags and garbage bags are marked as having post consumer recycled plastic in their makeup, since that's where a lot of this stuff ends up going, versus being reused as a mayo jar.

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.

Of course, if you want, you're welcome to recycle your mayo jar........I hear they're quite handy at holding loose change that you're likely to find in your pocket at the end of the day, or perhaps even under your sofa cushions!

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Well here's another observation. If enough people stopped recycling, the cost of a jar of mayonnaise would suddenly climb due to recycled mayonnaise jars becoming sparse. :Q

This thread = fail

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Um, they're doing you a service. If you want to recycle it yourself and sell it back, go ahead. No one's stopping you. Otherwise you'd be throwing it away and getting no money back for it. Go cry me a fvcking river.

You seem really insecure.

 

[irishScott]

Originally posted by: Pale Rider

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.

At no charge? Nothing is free. It's built into your property taxes then.

Maybe, but the point is it can't be openly canceled. It's a neighborhood thing. The entire street gets the same service. We could stop putting out the recycling bins, but what's the point?

At the very least, it frees up space in the trash can so I don't have to take out the trash as often.

 

[HannibalX]

Mostly good points so far, keep em coming.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: marvdmartian
Well, plastic (from what I understand) is never simply "reused". Unlike aluminum cans which can be melted down and reused, and glass bottles which can be sterilized at high temperatures, plastic simply won't stand up to that kind of heat, and retain it's usefullness in the particular shape it initially took.

Add to that that when you shred plastic to recycle it, it oftentimes loses some of it's strength, which reduces it's usefullness. That's why things like shopping bags and garbage bags are marked as having post consumer recycled plastic in their makeup, since that's where a lot of this stuff ends up going, versus being reused as a mayo jar.

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.

Of course, if you want, you're welcome to recycle your mayo jar........I hear they're quite handy at holding loose change that you're likely to find in your pocket at the end of the day, or perhaps even under your sofa cushions!

The problem is most glass and aluminum isn't recycled (IIRC). That material is just wasted, gone forever for all intents and purposes in a landfill.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: Pale Rider

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.

Well I have never heard anyone other group encouraging me to recycle. When is the last time the Jehova's Witnesses came to your door and urged you to recycle your empty jars.

It's not really rant, just an observation.

I don't see you insulting Jehovah Witnesses.

 

[HannibalX]

There is a card board recycling plant down the road from my house. They offer 40 cents per TON of cardboard returned. I suppose I could start a recycling company and get some of the $$$ that is out there. I saw on Discovery channel that the recycling industry is worth 20 billion a year.

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Originally posted by: Pale Rider

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.

Well I have never heard anyone other group encouraging me to recycle. When is the last time the Jehova's Witnesses came to your door and urged you to recycle your empty jars.

It's not really rant, just an observation.

I don't see you insulting Jehovah Witnesses.

Well if I did, would that make you feel better?

 

[nonameo]

You can get quite a bit of money for scrap aluminum and copper.(especially copper)

I always break down any car/computer parts and pull the aluminum from them for recycling. $$$

Styrofoam recycling is a feel-good SHAM though.

 

[HannibalX]

Yeah I have done that with aluminum. I tore down a pool screen enclosure years ago and got about $400 for all the aluminum.