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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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Recycling Mandates Can be Counter-Productive and Expensive
True ...
Mandating recycling when it is the least efficient to the market makes little sense, however, ultimately, the problem of highly expensive recycling is the fault of the manufacturer - not of the consumer or of government. If a manufacturer is irresponsible in creating a product from which its raw materials cannot be recovered easily and cheaply, it is they who are careless creating the overexpense to recycle such a product. It is they who are filling the dumps with unrecoverable materials.
I highly agree - if the consumer is free to make good purchase decisions AND are well informed as to the responsible manufacture of the products they purchase, irresponsible manufacturers will be drummed out of the marketplace in short work. Nevertheless, consumers are not always free as they ought to be to make wise purchase decisions nor are they nearly as informed as they ought to be on the responsibility built into the products they purchase or on responsible use of those products.
All in all, the issue of recycling must become a species-wide change in behavior. I have no doubt it will, however, there are many irresponsible individuals, institutions and organizations who must gain in maturity for it to happen.
- Naumadd
September 12, 2008 4:19PM
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