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Should We Recycle?

From the time when you were a small child, you were probably taught the virtues of recycling: paper, plastic, aluminum; you did your part to save the Earth. But a growing number of voices are concerned that recycling may harm the environment by expending more resources than simple trash. Before you decide whether to toss that plastic bottle in the blue bin, what should you consider?

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Regarding Comment

Actually

Agreed with who to trust the most

I agree the people get things done better than bureaucrats.

"The worst option, however, is turning control of these things over to those whose concern is money and not what's best for the environment or the people. Nothing is stopping them from tossing it while no one's looking--something companies have been doing in China for example, after taking recycled goods from the U.S."

Market-based incentives can already exist in order for businesses not to pollute:

http://cei.org/issue/52

http://cei.org/gencon/005 ,04527.cfm

http://cei.org/gencon/019 ,02897.cfm

http://mises.org/story/2855

Also government is currently our biggest polluter (we both may agree on that):

http://www.adti.net/environment/bndunlop_kasten_1000.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akaTQxCKiAI

What happened in China though when companies tried to do the same thing?

- F2XL December 20, 2008 11:47PM

Reply to this Recommend (0) Side: No

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- China's toxic villages
  
  Here's the best link I can find right now, though was just with a very quick search, should have some information in it.
  
  http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/11/video-chinas-ho.html
  
  - Blue Linchpin December 20, 2008 11:53PM
  
  Reply to this Recommend (1) Side: Yes
  
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  - On the Current video
    
    All I can see from the video is the fact that China cannot manage all the e-waste it receives from all over the world. Not much about businesses who aren't under government control deciding to pollute the environment.
    
    - F2XL December 21, 2008 5:21PM
    
    Reply to this Recommend (0) Side: No
    
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    - Eh?
      
      You must have missed it. They don't talk about it much but where all that waste is coming from is U.S. companies trying to save money. And that's a huge problem for me: when businesses put profit over things like consumer and environmental safety, like with the melamine tainted milk. Business just shouldn't be trusted with such things, because profit is NOT more valuable than human life. And while as an ancap I'm sure you'd love for there to be no restrictions on these companies, so they are free to dump the recycling waste while no one's looking, that's not what our environment needs.
      
      Another reason for leaving it to the government instead of businesses (though, again, at-home recycling is best) is very few people are going to want to pay to get their recycling done when they can get away with not doing it. Government doing the recycling is more convenient because we just put it out and don't have to worry about it. And as the environment's health is crucial to our survival as a race (I suggest you take a look at the latest WWF report, by the way), this isn't really something we can do half-ass.
      
      - Blue Linchpin December 21, 2008 7:08PM
      
      Reply to this Recommend (0) Side: Yes
      
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