The Age of Recycling is upon us. Billboards, Coke cans, cereal boxes, even Vice Presidents of the United States, tell us we must recycle to save the earth's scarce resources. When firms produce things that consumers want, they make profits. When they produce things people do not want, they lose money.
Revenues are low.
In other words, they don't value recycled goods very highly. But think of all the resources society saves by recycling. Yes, we are saving some resources. But we're also using up other resources. It takes resources to save resources.