America spends $8 billion per year to produce WORSE environment outcomes.

Any of the three of you out there who have been following me over the years, knows that I am just a tad cynical about the utililty of government programs.

Here I formally call for the end to all recycling in this country except maybe aluminum cans and cardboard. The industry that collects and processes bottles, cans, etc. is a huge money pit that causes MORE pollution than just throwing these objects in the landfill. We can literally save hard pressed families real money to the complete benefit of our environment. Win Win Win!!!!!

For example, we export billions of tons of waste to countries like Cambodia, Bangaladesh, and Laos. Who promptly dump it indiscriminantly. What would be properly disposed of here, pollutes streams and waterways there. Brilliant! Stupid beyond all reason! Government 101.

According to a U Columbia (NY, not Bogota) report:

Experts estimate that 20 to 70 percent of plastic intended for recycling overseas is unusable and is ultimately discarded. One study found that the plastic waste exported to Southeast Asia resulted in contaminated water, crop death, respiratory illnesses due to toxic fumes from incineration, and organized crime.

For many reasons, most of our “recycling” is recycled from your curbside bin the local landfill. Wasting billions of dollars that American households can’t afford, for absolutely no benefit at all. Like much of government spending, right?

Again, from pro recycling U Columbia report:

“As a result, U.S. processing facilities and municipalities have either had to pay more to recycle or simply discard the waste. In 2017, Stamford, CT made $95,000 by selling recyclables; in 2018, it had to pay $700,000 to have them removed. Bakersfield, CA used to earn $65 a ton from its recyclables; after 2018, it had to pay $25 a ton to get rid of them. Franklin, NH had been able to sell its recyclables for $6 a ton; now the transfer station charges $125 a ton to recycle the material or $68 a ton to incinerate it.”

Ponder the above. Stamfords population is 135,00 nutmeg consuming souls. Extrapolating the $700K that Stamford wastes on its ineffectual recycling program nationwide, thats $5 billion* completely waste-d (har!). Or about $40 annually per US household. Thats just to dispose of the “recycled” materials post collection. The extra truck costs another $40/month, to specifically pick up the recycling. Eighty bucks for nothing; (no chicks for free either).

Last time I checked, $80 a month that will buy a bag or three of groceries. Meaningful, when its almost a total waste (har har again). anyways. And people are lining up at food banks.

Note that after the researchers at Columbia got thru exposing this travesty for what it is, their solution is not to close down recycling programs but to MANDATE we triple or quadrouple each household’s effort to do it. Then impose billions in costs to industry to force it to use more recyclable plastics. The end result of which is predictable; more spending, worse outcomes. People won’t spend hours recycling without heavy handed government enforcement, (in a society in which prostitution, drug dealing, shoplifting, fraud, criminal trespass, and many other crimes are no longer prosecuted). Hows that going to work out?

Read the entire damning report here, if you like and don’t believe me. Or the second one.

https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/03/13/fix-recycling-america/

https://www.thoughtco.com/benefits-of-recycling-outweigh-the-costs-1204141

*135k divided by 325M US pop; times $700K; divided by 131M households. not scientific but close enough