Should you recycle? Whether you are for or against recycling, provide an economic explanation of your answer.
2006-11-09 13:03:41 · 2 answers · asked by Josh D 1 in Social Science ➔ Economics
No! it is only a feel good idealism, there is no merit to the recycleing the only recycling that actually makes sense is aluminum cans. This whole concept started back in 1981 or 2 when a garbage barge from New York was nort allowed to make it's journey to N. Carolina I think it was. Eversince politicians and moneymakers have jumped on the band wagon telling us how landfills are filling up and we are running out of trees......it's all b.s.
Trees used for paper are raised on farms much like the christmas tree, and the Idaho potato, No one is screaming about the potato are they?
So other than the alluminum can or making art from scrap I disagree with putting out 15 barrels in front of my house to recycle my green glass from clear and my paper from cardboard, or my plastic bottles from plastic plates. All so some corp. garbage company can save money, and line his own pocket as well as the local politician.
2006-11-10 00:57:36 · answer #1 · answered by battle-ax 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At an individual level, you should recycle when the utility you get from recycling more than outweighs the inconvenience of sorting your trash. Why, because it gives you utility. If you don't get net utility from recycling, then you shouldn't.
At an economy wide level, recycling should occur where the total cost of recycling (including collection costs etc but minus savings from reduced landfill) is less than the cost of producing new materials.
See the recycling chapter in this report into the economics of managing waste in Australia. The economic approach to the issue applies equally whatever country you are in.
2006-11-13 02:15:45 · answer #2 · answered by eco101 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋