35 replies to this topic

[artistry]

At the end of the process, there are benefits, that result from  turning old into new and has given new life to usable products.

[joeldgreat]

When plastic bags were still in use here in our community (it's ban for two now), I always set aside those plastic bags comming from the grocery stores. Then when ever I need one I simply get one from the drawer and re-use it. I also set aside glass bottles (including the borken ones) which are being collected in our community every four months and being sold to a nearby glass factory. I dont think this two simple way of recycling is a waste of time for me. Simple things about recycling, if done by millions, will make the difference.

[jackboyz]

Recycling is never being the waste of time. It has become an important part of today's life, otherwise one day our earth will be covered by waste material

[Shortpoet-GTD]

For those that think that recycling is a waste of time-pass this graphic along to them.
Oil/gas to plastics and where that oil comes from.
(Hint-they are not our buddies.)
http://www.facebook....113033735411903

The total tonnage of trees cut down for our paper use is staggering. Cards, office paper, newspapers, product
packaging.......the list goes on. Can we guess the numbers?
http://www.ecology.c...10/paper-chase/

These statistics will knock their socks off too.
http://www.techsoup....r/page10834.cfm

The good news? We recycle metals at a substantial rate-saving resources.
http://environment.a...l-recycling.htm

[meowcow]

Recycling cuts down on resource wastage in one way or another. If the math didn't add up, then someone would have pointed it out already with a more studied proof. At least with a little calculation, and not just spouting random assumptions and presenting them as facts. It really just is the words of the uneducated, and we should not get affected too much if it isn't a major deterrent to our green goal. However, I do understand that it can get frustrating and it truly is a waste that not everyone cares enough about these issues. This is everyone's planet, after all.

[FamilyTreeClimber]

Shortpoet, the numbers on metal recycling are staggering.  There's something people don't point out.  The recycling industry makes money and it creates jobs.  According to that article, scrap metal recyclers employ 85,000 people.

I believe a lot of this comes from Conservative politicians and radio/tv commentators.  It's easy to say "recycling doesn't work" and not have to support it with fact.  You say it enough times and some people will believe it at face value.

I think it will take a change in the way we think about products.  Does everything need to be made from new material?  We are used to recycled paper and plastic products for some uses.  We have to accept the concept that a product doesn't have to be made from new material to be safe, sanitary, and usable.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

For folks that don't think they should recycle-
ask them-
if the dog in the red umbrella insurance commercial can put items into the recycling bin-
why can't they?

[FamilyTreeClimber]

LOL Shortpoet!  In California, no one can give the excuse that it is too hard.    Our three bins sit right next to each other in the yard.  Since we don't have to separate our recyclables, it's merely a walk out to the bins to throw whatever in the right ones.  You'd have to be really lazy to see that as a burden.

Maybe we should tout recycling as an exercise regimen.  Each time you walk out to the recycle bin it expends x amount of energy.  You're burning calories and reducing waste (or is that waist?) all at the same time!

[milano]

FamilyTreeClimber, on 10 June 2012 - 05:45 PM, said:

I was on another forum where recycling was discussed today.  The responses were interesting but then there was the one you always expect.  The person stated that recycling is a big waste of time.  They stated that the market for recycling fell through so there is no reason to recycle anymore.  We are wasting our efforts and our government's money.

I've heard others say this, yet I see more and more recycled products hitting the market.  So, is it true that there is too much recycled waste and no one is buying it?  Or, is this an old argument that lets people gives people an out so they don't have to do it?

Almost all aluminum we use are recycled and recycling aluminum saves the environment, money and time of companies that processes them and use them. I agree with his statement but I don't think that All recycling is a waste of time. Paper recycling might be waste of time and maybe plastic but metals are still worth recycling but the basic idealogy of recycling is not to save money but to save the environment. Saving money is just one of the benefits and should not be the reason for recycling.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

I'm getting tired of these "tin hat denier" arguments.

If they don't understand that we, as a society, community-whatever
don't have to cut down new trees because we recycle paper and cardboard, then they are too stupid to
understand 2+2=4.
If they don't understand that by using oil/gas from places like Iran that would love to blow us up, rather
than recycle plastic bottles, again, they're too stupid to understand anything.
And I haven't even mentioned the water used to make new products.

[Magic Pixel]

How can recycling be a waste of time? It's time that's at stake for all of us if resources are just shovelled and sucked up from the earth continuously. Recycling is just one area in making the use of resources more efficiently.

[FamilyTreeClimber]

I think the perception of recycling may be about to change, at least, amongst the younger generation.  Did anyone see the announcement between Coca Cola and Wil.i.am on the news today?  They have entered a partnership where they will produce products made of recycled materials.

Wil.i.am is lending his name to the project because he wants to make recycling cool.  I'm not sure why Coca Cola has joined him.  Nonetheless, the first product they will create is a pair of headphones made of recycled materials.   The headphones will cost $349, which are pricey, if you ask me.

Each item will have something on the label that indicates how many recycled bottles, cans, etc. went into making the product.  This is to raise awareness about recycling.

The project is called Ekocycle.  Here's more info.:
http://www.huffingto...tm_hp_ref=green

[ACSAPA]

Even a $349 price tag for headphones won't deter kids. There are some kids at my daughter's school that have $300 Dr. Dre Beats headphones because they begged and nagged their parents for them.

Anyway, I don't know about you guys, but when I'm shopping and I find out something is made of recycled materials, for some reason that makes it more desirable and fabulous to me. If I see a picture frame and find out that it's made of reclaimed barn wood, that makes me like it 30 percent more. If I'm comparing tiles, and one box of tiles has colorful bits of recycled plastic embedded in them, and the other set doesn't, I want the recycled ones even if they cost more. Recycling/upcycling really affects what I buy, even more than brand names.

By the way, isn't it amazing how they can make recycled plastic look like anything nowadays? My daughter has some crocheted sock monkeys that look like they're made of wool but the "yarn" is made of recycled water bottles. In fact she has a few stuffed cuddly toys that are made of recycled water bottles. I wonder how they do that.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

It's so automatic to me, I wouldn't/couldn't think otherwise.
If I can save a tree from being cut down, or a barrel of oil being imported from unfriendly countries, and groundwater
being contaminated from fracking to make a plastic bottle, or more strip mining for metals ores, I'll make the time.
And it sounds like everyone here agrees with that .

[FamilyTreeClimber]

I saw the first commercial for the Will.i.am/Coca Cola venture last night during the Olympics.  I must admit it made recycling sound pretty hip.  They showed how you take one item and it continually turns into something else.  Then, at the end it turns in the headphones that Will.i.am is wearing.

I found a link for it:


I really like what they are doing and I hope it succeeds.  As we all have learned, you can change laws and regulations, but you really affect change when you change minds.  I know that my nieces and nephews (aged 9 to 24) are far more aware about recycling and similar issues than I was at that ages.  If we continue, there will be a generation that doesn't even think twice about putting their stuff in the recycling bin.  To them, it will be the way it is.

[SheforACT]

If it's good for the planet, it's worth the price, right?