The report (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/07/waste-disposal-environment-recycling) that the 'credit crunch' has led to a dramatic fall in prices for waste paper, plastics, metals and bottles should not be used as an argument against recycling. I appreciate that economics (along with the energy costs of re utilising material) are issues (the former excellent prices for UK waste in China were certainly a strong stimulus) but, without recycling, there would still be a need for disposal of masses of material. Burning (presumably with effective carbon capture) to generate energy might be appropriate for some materials and locations but land fill disposal has many short term and long term problems. It seems short-termism to condemn recycling simply because some of the collected materials have to currently (admittedly at a cost) be stored.
Friday, 9 January 2009
Waste Waste
The report (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/07/waste-disposal-environment-recycling) that the 'credit crunch' has led to a dramatic fall in prices for waste paper, plastics, metals and bottles should not be used as an argument against recycling. I appreciate that economics (along with the energy costs of re utilising material) are issues (the former excellent prices for UK waste in China were certainly a strong stimulus) but, without recycling, there would still be a need for disposal of masses of material. Burning (presumably with effective carbon capture) to generate energy might be appropriate for some materials and locations but land fill disposal has many short term and long term problems. It seems short-termism to condemn recycling simply because some of the collected materials have to currently (admittedly at a cost) be stored.
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2 comments:
for me this story is actually a call to reuse more, rather than recycle. I don't know if it will stimulate reuse amongst the general population though...
Reuse is good. But either way the story seems to have stimulated a spate of "I told you it was all a waste of time" type stories. That seems to me to be a pity.
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