Is Recycling JUST Feel Good Project?

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I don't think so. There is much more to it. Greensboro has made a real effort to reduce the amount of garbage going into the city dump. Our recycling efforts are just one of the ways we are doing that.

Greensboro City Council Member Sandy Carmany noted on her blog that she wants input from citizens about recycling. Here are SOME of my thoughts.

1. IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT MONEY. The State of North Carolina has mandated the reduction of certain waste deposited into landfills. Recycling is one of the ways Greensboro has elected to do this. Composting yard waste is another (also mandated by state law).

3. Mayor Holliday has suggested (several times) that a label be POSTED ON THE BROWN CAN with information about what is acceptable for recycling in Greensboro and what should not be put into the brown can. I agree. Mr. Holliday should push harder on this suggestion.

4. Other ways of helping us understand might be by using billboard or banners such as the ones used to encourage water conservation. Recycling is easy in Greensboro. Just put the right stuff into the brown can and haul it out to the street once a week. And it is voluntary.

5. Recycling, along with other ways of disposing of trash, can reduce waste going into landfills by almost 95 percent. Construction and demolition waste takes up much space in private and public landfills. Private and public efforts are beginning to be improved to reduce this source of stuff deposited into landfills.

6. Someone is making money from trash. The taxpayers elected officials should be able to, at the very least, stabilize the cost of disposing of trash by retaining control of the process.

7. And back to my old phrase. Waste to Energy is a viable option for our region.

8. And to questions from Sandy Carmany and Tom Phillips. Our recycling efforts should be continued and improved. RECYCLING IS A FEEL GOOD WAY to help protect our environment in which EVERY CITIZEN CAN PARTICIPATE.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had a meeting with a guy from Republic Waste a few months ago and I asked him about recycling. He said the only material that makes any economic sense to recycle is cardboard. If that's true, I wonder how long efforts to recycle can be sustained? If recycling costs more money than it brings in, then your thoughts #1 and 5 - reduce waste going to landfills - become all important. How much waste does recycling keep out of landfills and how much is it worth?

I like the idea of recycling in general, but if it the process costs more than the product brings in, you have to wonder if it really is just a feel good project.

Diane Grey Davis said...

Hey David,

There are costs associated with any kind of waste disposal.

Putting everything into a landfill may not be as safe as we think; and over time, more and more land is needed for that purpose. Land isn't getting cheaper.