Should We Recycle?

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Some in the waste-hauling and landfill industries would argue that recycling should pay for itself, or that it should be driven by market factors. The fact is, unlike landfills and incinerators, recycling generates dollars to help pay for itself because many recyclable materials have inherent value as commodities. Prices may fluctuate as they do for any commodity, but domestic and international markets exist for all materials collected in curbside and other recycling programs. And demand for recycled materials has never been greater.

American manufacturers rely on recyclables to produce many of the products on store shelves. Because of this, recycling is responsible for more than one million U.S. jobs in recycled product manufacturing alone. Recycling is estimated to create nearly five times as many jobs as landfilling. The jobs created by recycling businesses draw from the full spectrum of the labor market (ranging from low- and semi-skilled jobs to highly skilled jobs). Materials sorters, dispatchers, truck drivers, brokers, sales representatives, process engineers, and chemists are just some of the jobs needed in the recycling industry. Recycling is actively contributing to America's economic vitality.

Recycling can also be viewed as economically beneficial from a cost-avoidance standpoint. Well-run recycling programs cost less than landfills and incinerators. Unlike most public services, recycling functions within the market economy. Though it is often supported by government, so are many public services such as running water, electricity, and mail. And while recycling programs should be able to justify their costs and demonstrate their benefits, programs should not be judged against a profit goal. Recycling is a solid waste management option, and should be judged against alternatives such as source reduction or landfilling. Those who would argue for purely market-based recycling are often those who make their living hauling waste to landfills.

While communities can reduce the cost of their solid waste disposal by recycling, so, too, can private businesses. Recycling helps the bottom line for some businesses by reducing the cost to obtain and process materials. For others, it can mean lower waste hauling fees. Some examples include:

·          Every year, the makers of shipping pallets consume half of all hardwood and 10% of all lumber used nationally. At Eastman Kodak, redesigned shipping pallets and altered stacking patterns saved over 7 million pounds of wood and $380,000 in a single year.

·          At Hewlett-Packard's Roseville, California manufacturing facility, 93% of packaging waste generated is now re-used or recycled, saving the computer giant $1.45 million in disposal costs.

Overall, the economic value of recycling is substantial. Recycling creates business opportunities and jobs, encourages product innovation, and saves money for the public and private sectors.