In the town where I used to live, (Lowell, Ark.), the sanitation company left a recycling bin at every house. At the same time, it introduced an optional program where you paid a fee of $1 per month plus $1 per trash bag. I recycled because it was convenient and worth my while. I put all my newspapers, glass jars, etc., in the bin, and composted my kitchen scraps for the garden. After that, I only had to buy two or three bags a month.
Whether the program was a net gain for the garbage people, I don't know. It significantly cut down on landfill use, I think.
I'm now living in an apartment with a dumpster, so I don't pay a sanitation fee. But most Fayetteville city residents are covered by a program similar to that in Lowell, with a free recycling bin. Here they get 52 bags up front for a flat fee, and have to buy extras. Believe it or not, the people around here are whining that "it's not fair" that they have to pay for the bags they use after the first 52. But I've noticed, driving around, houses with six bags out front, only half-full and loosely packed. And the bins are usually nowhere to be seen. So what these people really want is for the frugal to pay higher rates to subsidize their laziness.
I won't recycle unless I get paid for the materials or it saves me some money, as in the previous instances. But in this case, it was virtually no trouble at all, and cut my trash bill down to almost nothing. It infuriates me that a bunch of Snopeses who aren't smart enough to take advantage of such a program want to ruin it for the rest of us.
From: Jason DeBacker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: recycling Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 21:45:35 -0600
Hi all, Recently, I was listening to a radio program about garbage. It was an NPR program, so I was surprised to hear them talking about how recycling may not be worth it. However, they did say that while recycling glass and plastic may not be an efficient use of resources, the said that recycling paper is. What got me, is that I never remember seeing recycling centers that pay for pounds of paper. They pay for aluminum and other metals and even glass, I think, but not for paper (or plastic).
If recycling paper is worth it in terms of saved energy and raw material usage, wouldn't someone be paying for scrap paper? What are the major factors determining the value of goods in the recyclables market?
Another question might be, why do people pay for a service that picks up recyclables at their door- why doesn’t anyone offer to take them for free (or even pay) so that they can then cash the used good in at the recycling center? People don’t pay for the Salvation Army volunteers to pick up things…
Regards, Jason DeBacker
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