To the Group - I'd like to say that the misunderstandings, dogma being
promoted, and the compulsion amongst certain members of this group
(some perhaps with vested financial and emotional interests) to make
gross assumptions, label, ridicule, and otherwise divert attention from
reasonable inquiry and suggestion is more than regretful. Similar
sentiment has been expressed by at least one or two other contributors
to this group in the not-so-distant past.
As an aside, for those who might question my interests or otherwise
think I have a disaffection for reuse, recycling, and composting I
would encourage you to visit the web pages of Maple Street Apartments.
It has one of the most successful, progressive, if not premier, pilot
multi-family recycling, reuse, and household hazardous waste diversion
operations for hundreds of miles in all directions and perhaps even in
the country. I designed it and I operate it and have for the past 7
years.
Jeff,
I must be missing something here. I can well imagine it making sense
in many instances but it is very hard to believe it makes sense in many
others. Driving gasoline guzzling recycling trucks around rural
communities picking up a few pounds of PET the recycling of which might
save a couple of pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually
hardly seems like it makes sense when the trucks are getting around 2
miles per gallon of gas emitting 20 lbs of (CO2) for every
gallon of gasoline burned. This is even more the case when one
considers the other negative externalities and opportunity costs that
arise as a result of putting that collection program in place and
operating it. To put it more extremely, does it make sense to
establish and operate a recycling program that seeks to collect a
couple of pounds of mixed paper annually from a single household a
hundred miles out of the way? If we accept that the answer is NO then
the implication is that there is a threshold at which it does make
sense. Under what conditions does it make sense? I'd be willing to
bet that the vast majority of recycling programs don't really know
where that line is and that there is a great deal of inefficiency in
them. I'd also be willing to bet that there are numerous
instances/circumstances where it does make sense (a net benefit
results) and numerous instances where it doesn't.
Again, Best Regards,
Stephan
--
Stephan Pollard, Ph.D.-Environmental Dynamics
555 W. Maple St., Apt. C
Fayetteville, AR 72701
(479) 444-7445
(479) 799-9190 cell
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