Is Recycling Garbage? by Jan Weaver

There is no shortage of landfill space. This is literally correct. At current rates of garbage production, it would take all the U.S. garbage 1000 years to fill a hole 35 miles on a side and 100 yards deep. However, landfills are increasingly difficult to site because of public perception of the risk of living near a landfill. Whether modern landfills deserve this reputation or not, Nimbys (Not In My Backyard) don't want to live near them and Nimtos (Not In My Term of Office) don't want to waste political capital on them. In addition, a growing environmental justice movement has produced a crop of Bananas (Build Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone) and Nopes (Not On Planet Earth) who argue that paying other communities to take your garbage is economic blackmail.

There is no shortage of raw materials. The reasoning here is that if raw materials were in short supply, their inflation adjusted price would be going up. Instead prices are falling, therefore there is no shortage. But why exactly are raw material prices so low? Packaging is smaller, thinner and lighter. Whether inspired by the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle mantra, or by costs, packagers now use less material than they did even a decade ago. Also, much of the material they use is no longer 'raw', it is recycled. For example the renaissance in the U.S. steel industry came from the growth in mini-mills that process steel scrap instead of raw ore. Recycled materials in every respect but one (water used for deinking newsprint) use less energy and less water in their production than raw materials, which means they are less expensive to produce.

There are no markets for recycled materials. The volume of recyclables sold has increased steadily in domestic and foreign markets, even though prices have fluctuated. Scrap metal and used paper are the largest exports form the Port of New York, and U.S. pulp paper manufacturers are projected to spend $10 billion by the end of the decade to expand the capacity of their recycled paper mills.

Recycling shouldn't be subsidized. 1) Ok, but no subsidies for other industries. In the northwest, the U.S. Forest Service spends $91 million more maintaining roads than it makes from selling trees to the timber companies that use the roads. Energy subsidies for aluminum smelting cost northwest homeowners an extra $2 a month. Federal compensation for mining on public land in the west is governed by an 1872 act that allows a company to mine for $5 an acre. 2) Why not? We subsidize landfills and incinerators. 3) In many communities, particularly on the east coast, where suitable space for landfills is scarce, or on the west coast where foreign markets for recyclables are strong, recycling more than pays for itself. Even in the Midwest, avoided landfill costs make recycling a money saver.

Recycling wastes time. Oh come on. Tierny estimated that recycling took 8 minutes per week and a square foot of kitchen space, as if an individual wouldnÍt have to spend time and space dealing with an equivalent amount of garbage. Sitting in traffic wastes time - recycling, by extending landfill life, reducing pollution, and conserving resources gives us a future.

Bioregional Quiz: The moon's first quarter is on the 5th. Will sunlight fall on the moon's left or right side?

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES INITIATIVE - PROGRAM COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY
JANUARY 20, 4PM N208 UNION

Special Events

Scholarships

MU Meetings and Events

Organization Meetings and Events

Answer to Bioregional Quiz: It will fall on the moon's right side.

Feedback - Got an opinion about something we've written, or about a current environmental issue? Submit it by email (envstudy@showme.missouri.edu), snail mail (Environmental Studies, 220 Gentry, MU, Columbia MO 65211), or phone 882-7116. MU Environmental Network News is published by MU's Environmental Studies Initiative. All opinions expressed are the responsibility of the editor. Any part of this newsletter may be copied for distribution but please give us credit.

return to news page

return to home page