Posted by Savneet Singh on Jun.08, 2010

©iStockphoto.com - Maica

Recycling has become an important part of our lives, with the faithful assumption that disposing is bad and recycling is always good by definition. Pause to consider the science and the economics of every proposition, including segregating plastic containers, bottles, newspapers and metal cans and then placing them in colorful boxes at curbside. Without even questioning either the cost or the outcomes of the process that starts at the curb, or if recycling is economically or environmentally sound.

Saving Trees with Paper Recycling

People recycle paper to save trees. However, most paper comes from trees that are planted with the intention of eventually harvesting them to make things like paper. This means that if we all use less paper, there would be fewer trees planted. Maybe some people ought to use less paper anyway, but no one assume that the people who are in the business of growing and harvesting trees are going to continue to do so even if we don’t buy their products. For every 13 trees “saved” by recycling, 87 will never get planted. It is because of the demand of the paper that number of trees have been increasing in the world. Moreover, recycling newsprint creates more water pollution than making new paper. De-inking old news papers produces a lot of toxic sludge that requires special disposal.

Polystyrene Food Containers

Similarly, several cities, including New Jersey, and Portland, Oregon, have essentially banned polystyrene food packages, like the ones McDonald’s used to put burgers in until it was pressured into switching to paperboard container, because the paper used by McDonald’s is recyclable and polystyrene is not. But the truth is complicated.

Polystyrene is completely recyclable, which is not always true for the paper used in, for example drinking cups, especially if the paper has been wax coated or soiled with food residue. These paper cups cost the consumer about two and half times as much as polystyrene. Studies carried out by NCPA show that production of polystyrene hamburger shells used by McDonald’s actually used 30% less energy than paperboard and resulted in 46% less air pollution and 42% less water pollution. The average 10-gram paper cup consumes 33-grams of wood and uses 28% more petroleum in its manufacture than the entire input of the polystyrene cup.

Recycling is very useful when it is approached from perspective of sound economics, good science and voluntary cooperation, but unfortunately it is promoted as an end in itself without regard to whether it is worth the time and expense. Quite often, recycling expends more energy and resources than it saves or reclaims. Recycling however, doesn’t really happen unless all that plastic, glass, paper and metal from the sorted bins is turned into new, useful products that are generally in demand in the marketplace. Some of what we put out at curbside actually ends in a landfill or piled to the ceiling in warehouses with no place to go.

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Posted under Eco-Friendly Ideas, Living.