re: Do you just not really care about recycling?

I definitely recycle metal. Too much work went into making the metal to just throw it in the dump.

Does recycling currently exist at a household level?

I care, and try to consume less. But tossing plastic into a recycle bin is 100% a feel good thing right now. Unless they’ve come up with a solution to China no longer taking our plastic, recycling isn’t happening after it leaves our homes.

Plastic will kill us in the end.

Enjoy destroying the planet.

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It all ends up in the same place.

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Whoever said "Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust" was spot on.

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It’s basically a scam. I recycle bottles and stuff like that but don’t go out of my way for it

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I believe recycling plastics is a good idea, but out here in rural Louisiana, recycling programs are run by the local government.

And they are not open to receive on Saturdays, which is when most normal working, taxpaying people have the time to deal with this stuff.

Just like bringing stuff to the landfill. My local landfill is only open a half day on Saturday. Seems to me it would be a better idea to be open all day Saturday and maybe close for a half day during the week.

But that would make too much sense I guess.

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I’m wasting petroleum

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Wow. That's absurd. My concern with plastic is the amount that ends up in the oceans.

Generally, recycling programs suck. Curbside recycling is absurd in most places.

Glass recycling is expensive and carbon intensive.

Having giant trucks driving around town picking up unsorted shite that get s largely thrown away is dumb. Having people make special trips to recycling facilities is dumb.

A deposit system (where people return bottles to a store where they're going to shop already) is good in theory but seems expensive to administer. Seems like some good tech could solve that though if it hasn't already.

We have curbside recycling w giant 95-gallon cans, so it's just as easy to throw plastic, paper and aluminum in there as in the trash. But I see the totally unrecyclable shite other people throw in there and wonder just how much this stuff actually gets sorted and recycled.

Our program doesn't take glass so I do save that and take it to Emory recycling facility on my way through campus occasionally.

So to answer your question: I participate because it's there but meh.

Very very very few products require less energy to recycle than to just produce new. Anything paper or plastic is a waste of everyone’s time and money to “recycle.” Most metals are in the same boat.

Aluminum is just about the only exception I can readily think of that’s actually less of an impact to the environment to recycle. Most metals, even if they pay a “profit” to you to recycle them, like copper, are only worth anything if you do all of the work, but even then it’s marginal and is ultimately a wash as far as the environment is concerned.

And don’t even get me started on the fricknuts who complain about landfills.

I love recycling. We get a big, covered bin just for recycling. One truck picks up the regular garbage and truck picks up the recycling bin. The trucks use an automated arm to grab the bins so no person touches the bins.

Because of that, I’ll put things like fluorescent bulbs, car batteries, old paint, etc in the recycling bin and they take it away every week! Thanks! I’m currently working on breaking down an old CRT television set so I can dispose of it over several weeks because it’s too big for one trip.

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Plastic will kill us in the end.

Enjoy destroying the planet

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