Recycling

I read in the Times this morning that New York City would begin their recycling program, again. We’ve been recycling here for years. We do it, but it’s a royal pain in the butt. And, I wonder if it really makes any difference at all?

We once had cardboard left at the curb… not picked up… just because it wasn’t properly bundled. I wish my life didn’t need approval from the garbage police.

It always strikes me as funny that the two biggest recyclable items are paper and glass. What do they think… paper grows on trees! Oh – hold on. It does.

Glass is another. Are we running out of sand?

Over time, I’ve read stories about how recycling programs lose money and accomplish little, but I have no real first hand knowledge. You have to be careful with ‘facts’ like that because they often come from people with vested interests who are looking to provide their own spin. Recycling could be accomplishing everything we hope for – though I’ve never heard anyone even hint that.

We subscribe to two newspapers at home. Sometimes, we take the papers to the curb. Other times, we’ll wait until enough accumulates and then go to the dump. Well, actually, it’s no longer the dump – it’s a transfer station.

That’s what I did a few days ago. I got there at 3:10 and found they close at 3:00. This discovery was made with the entire rear of the Explorer loaded with newsprint and cardboard. I received special dispensation and left them at work – where we have segregated bins for recyclables.

I just wish I really knew that this was more than feel good conservationism, and that it really does good. I’m scared it’s yet another example of going through the motions.

One thought on “Recycling”

  1. Tsk, tsk. You with your science background, should know that it’s not the raw materials that are the problem. It’s the energy required to turn them into the finished products. That, with our dependence on wacky foreign governments, is worth conserving.

    Also, I once toured a paper mill in Newfoundland which supplied the newsprint for the New York Times. If you can make new newspapers out of old ones, it’s GOT to be better than cutting the trees up there and all that is involved to make new paper. Very messy.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *