A much higher percentage of materials now discarded in the U.S. waste stream can be recycled, and the environment would certainly benefit if many of the products now made from virgin resources were manufactured from recycled resources instead. Virtually every issue put forth by those who take the antirecycling position has been subjected to thorough review and debate, producing volumes of research. Rarely do the facts support the antirecycling stance. Those who argue that recycling has been oversold to the American public try to hit at the heart of recycling's environmental and economic value. Landfill space is available, convenient and, unlike earlier dump sites, today's landfills pose no environmental problems.
Recycling is more expensive than landfilling.
Government mandates requiring recycling, and subsidies offered in behalf of recycling are costly and distort free-market objectives and efficiencies. This report refutes all of these arguments. Undoubtedly, recycling will withstand this latest assault on common sense, good science, and sound economics. Like any good idea, especially one that threatens the world view of entrenched profit-making interests or requires some adjustment in bureaucratic processes, recycling is an uphill battle. But it is one that mainstream America, whose commitment to environmental progress is well documented, is winning.