From: naldret@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Dana L. Naldrett)
Subject: Re: The Recycling Myth
Organization: University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 15:15:17 GMT

In <15900004@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM> duanej@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Duane Jacobson) writes:
>What's the deal with recycling???

>I'm expected to pay the garbage collector $2-$3/month for the priviledge
>of having them pick up my recyclables, when I can just throw them in with
>the rest of my trash for free.

>Seems to me that recycling is a farce.  Guilt-ridden yuppies want to feel
>better about themselves after spending an exhausting weekend at the mall.
>The public has been brow beaten with the RECYCLE message lately.  Enter
>Waste Management, et.al.  They see that these people will pay more money
>to feel good.  It doesn't matter if the stuff can be recycled or not,
>the garbage collectors still win.

IDIOT! You really don't get it, do you?  You call yourself a skeptic, but
that really isn't right. More like someone covering up all of their senses.
(Sorry for the personal remark- I get annoyed with intelligent people who
ignore the facts)

What are the facts?  North Americans are the most wasteful group of 
people *IN THE WORLD*. Granted this is partly because we are also the
most affluent, but it is also because we are the most inconsiderate.

Your comment about the browbeating is partly true (we are being browbeaten)
but for a good reason- the space to throw away useful materials is just
disappearing, Ask anyone who lives in New York or Toronto, or any other
large city. 

The real problem with landfills is that nearly EVERYTHING we throw into them
could be used or put somewhere else. The question simply becomes, how much
money are you willing to spend to protect or environment? Obviously not much..
The Europeans were way ahead of us on this problem because of their large 
population and lack of space. They also have an economy which is used to 
paying more for everyday things. The result? Good waste management and things
get reused, recycled and simply not thrown away needlessly.

Have you ever hear of a waste audit?  Take one weeks trash, and keep track of
*exactly* what you throw out. Then, study it to see what could be diverted 
from landfill. I bet you will find that nearly 90% of what you throw out 
could be going somewhere else. This is true with most municipal waste in 
North America. The problem is getting people to think this way. Hence, the
browbeating you talk about. There is a good reason for it- we are mostly
too lazy or unthinking to change our ways. 

What will change your mind? Consider your landfill site closing and having 
to pay extremely high haulage and tipping fees to take it out of your local 
area. Now, it's going to hit you right in the wallet. Do we have your
attention now?

Oh yes, in closing I will admit that I am one of those nasty people who
(tries) to make a living in this business, but I'm not one of the real
villains (the waste management companies or the haulers). I just try to
look after the safety and quality of the landfill sites.

Dana Naldrett
Reasearch Associate and 
President, Naldrett & Pollard Environmental Geosciences Ltd.


















-- 
Dana L. Naldrett               Internet: naldret@ccu.umanitoba.ca
Dept of Geological Sciences    
University of Manitoba         Phone: (204) 474-8252 or -9371(messages)
Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 2N2   Fax:   (204) 261-7581   
From: duanej@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Duane Jacobson)
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 04:03:29 GMT
Subject: Re: The Recycling Myth
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA