Is Recycling a joke?

The environmental movement left us with recyclying- I ask you is this some sort of pitiful joke?

The late 80's and early 90's spawned a huge awarness of environmentalism- that movement is all but over but from it we have recycling a noble cause indeed. However my thought is that it is a sham, a total smoke screen perpetrated by the mega corps. to plaquate the sudden rise of the apathetic.
There are still huge environmental problems which lie unaddressed- The USA will not even accept the Kyoto accords- and there is a long list of environmental problems-which I am sure each of you can easily think up a dozen or so in as many seconds.
My point is that we have settled with something horribly insignifigant and the Environmental movement may as well be at the bottom of a landfill. I am certain that companies that had so much too lose from environmental resposibility are the biggest supporters of recycling as there is little expense in comparison.
Gather that damned paper and all those plastic containers- and when you parade it all down to the recycle bins at the end of a sprawling parking lot in your gigantic SUV remember how we sold out the world for "30% recycled content".
What do you think- are we wasteing our time doing practically nothing?

Woot, first reply
Well, recycling actually does do a heck of alot. But as you said, anything else and the corporations lose money so they dont do anything else.
Recycling isnt a waste of time
Many other things also need to be solved
Corporations Suck =O

Its not a waste of time, of course recycling does have benefits. However, the pollution and destruction caused by vehicles, factories, etc. is insane. That is where the environment is being harmed. That is where the dent has to be made.

how many of you do recycle?
I do somethings but to be honest I do think it is a waste of time its like trying to bail out a sinking boat with a tin can and being overjoyed that your actually doing something.

Yes i recycle as this community is trying to be environmentally friendly. Myfirst experience with the recycle bins ( besides the alluminium can bin next to the sode machine in the break area) was a total farce. Miami did a trail run to access the cost factor verse response. After watching the pick up of our carefully sorted recycles being dumped into the same bin in the truck, it seemed pretty foolish waste of time. In my youth I worked in the trades, I made a lot of extra cash on recycling metal (copper, brass, etc) just by chucking the scrap pieces into my tool bucket!
Some of our best recycling agents are street people collecting glass and cans to survive!

we recycle cans... because i drink far too much mountain dew

The Gainesville Sun
Business Day
Friday, June 4, 2004

quote:

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photo headliine: Some car owners fuel up with vegetable oil
photo insert: woman pouring cooking oil from container into large funnel in trunk tank of hatchback..
(sticker on rear window states: Department of Peace)
photo caption: Etta Kantor, fills her diesel car's spare tank with recycled vegetable oil at jer home in Weston, Conn., on April 28, Kantor installed a conversion kit in her diesel car so that she can power it with used vegetable oil when she flips a switch on the car dash.
headline: A cleaner alternative
The drivers say their "veggie cars" are a great way to save money.
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the Associated Press

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In the body of the article stated the used cooking oil she uses is recycled cookiing oil from a local restuartant. Which also benefits the restuarant
as they don't have to pay to dispose of the used oil.
Evidently, it is loweer in emmissions?
(this is implied by headline, not stated outright in article.)

The Gainesville Sun
Work Life
Monday, June 7, 2004

Headline: Stuck on Solar
By Cathy Ciotola
Sun Staff Writer

quote:

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Tom Lane is passionate about solar energy, his friends & co-workers say. And that enthusiasm comes out when Lane talks about the subject. Lane is co-owner & president of Energy Conservation Services, a business that sells & installs solar water heaters, solar pool heaters & solar electric systems.
He has definite opinions on the future of energy sources in the & what solar's role should be. ' The longer we take to move to alternative sources of fuel, the more economic chaos there will be.' Said Lane, 56.
'Absolutely in this century we'll run out of coal, oil and gas. All the oil in the world will be gone in 30 years.'

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I wonder how long will it be till we have to strip mind our landfills for precious metals & plastics to recycle into useable goods?

I recycle everyday. The sanitation department uses it to water the highway plants.

Seriously, yes I do recycle. I know the world looks bleak and we are small individuals against mega-corps who control the destiny of our planet. So what can we do?

Actually there is alot we can do. Join any enviromental group, write to your elected officials, involve yourself in clean-up efforts, buy recycled products, use synthetic motor oil, use less water and electricity (ironic huh), start a compost heap, use public transportation, etc, etc.

We can't change the world overnight if at all, but at least I feel better for doing my part.

Some older vehicles may have trouble with synthetic oils, I keep getting a low pressure warning.So I am going to drain the crankcase & add nondetergent (single weight oil) SAE 40. If that cures it, I may hve a bad pump?
I may need to recycle the car?

Andrew Relief had installed a solar water heater for their showers but it wasn't working. So they installed a gas unit to feed the shower banks, good but you had to get to the shower early or take a cold shower. When I got there I started looking the system over, they had used pvc for the supply lines, a no - no but the problem with the system was they hdn't isolated ( foot valve) restricted the direction of flow. Instead of allowing the water to recirculate into the tanks (5-250 gal tanks), the cold water was sucking the heat from the panels (2). The next day when I returned I found I had quite a repair job. The water had become so hotin one afternoon that the pvc had swallen to about 2 pipe size diameters. I replaced the plastic with copper pipe w/ insulation over the objections of the manager (I had to him fight to get the ok to install the check valve to begin with) after that their was no lack of hot water with only the cost of the well pump & the circulating pump. The relief workers had paid for a system that only benefited them for a couple of months, after a year of paying for gas to a 125 gal nature gas water heater.