Is recycling just a load of BS?

[Nostromo]

Watch this Penn and Teller show and decide for yourself...

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=7734998370503499886&q=Penn+%26+Teller

[Dis]

hehe, I already watched all the penn and tellers I could find after getting the link in the prison thread. Although sometimes I feel what P&T say is bull****, but I digress.

They missed the entire point of recycling. Non bio degradable plastics. Sure it takes more energy to recycle plastics. But plastic is non biodegradable.

But I agree with them about the paper. Paper is biodegradable (though the ink is hazardous, but that is unavoidable). So who cares if we fill up landfills with paper.

They also failed to mention one thing about destroying forests. Sure we plant new forests to replace the old ones. But there are hundreds of species living in these forests. They are forced to relocate or die. I'm not sure how much of a problem this really is. As long as the logging companies leave adjacent forest untouched to allow the species to "cross over". But newly planted forests will take many years to support diverse life.

I support recycling aluminum, metals, electronics, and plastics.

I also recommend watching this one.

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-4480559399263937213&q=Penn+%26+Teller

It touched more on the logging issue and makes these women look like complete morons. . And I thought only blondes were dumb. And I love the bit on dyhydrogen monoxide. It's been done before, but first time I saw it on tv.

[Japher]

I took a course in waste management in college in a can say for certain that yes, recycling is bogus... not the actual act, per se, but you as an individual going out of your way to do it is...

[Impaler[WrG]]

Their right about recycling costing money, that should be rather obvious to anyone as we see with aluminum cans. In many poorer nations the low labor costs mean that the poor will collect, sort and recycle practicaly everything. Also when it comes to plastic recycling the raw material being saved is oil (or atleast certain long chain grades of cracked hydro-carbons) so their may be a considerable savings via the reduced demand for oil in general. They need to look at total cost to society rather then just the recycling process itself. Theirs also the fact that recycling as a manufacturing process is sugject in ever incressing efficiency, particularly in the expensive sorting process. As that improvess were likly to see the net cost go into the possitive.

[TCO]

Dis and Whaler, you all are morons. How about formulating mathematical hypotheses to test? Sheesh.

[OzzyKP]

I just watched a bunch of their stuff, and yea it is incredibly stilted propaganda. Even on shows where I agree with their perspective, it is more entertainment than fact.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Dis
But I agree with them about the paper. Paper is biodegradable (though the ink is hazardous, but that is unavoidable). So who cares if we fill up landfills with paper.

There's no oxygen in a landfill, so nothing biodegrades in there. In a thousand years, archaeologists will be able to identify items of food they dig up.

[OzzyKP]

What about when the layer it with dirt and spray it with water and such to help with the biodegradability?

And giving archaeologists something cool to dig up is worth it right there.

[chequita guevara]

The problem isn't the dirt and water, it's the anoxic environment. The vast majority of bacteria, fungi, and the like require the presence of oxygen to metabolize food. There's no air inside a landfill.

[Dis]

I'm sure they will be thrilled with old issues of skank magazine.

[chequita guevara]

They'll be thrilled at everything, except toxics and radioactives that shouldn't be in the dumps but are.

[Dis]

considering we have written (and electronic) forms of communications. Will archaelogists be needed to study human history at the year 2006? We don't go looking through people's trash from 1954 to find out what happened back then. .

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Dis
So who cares if we fill up landfills with paper.

You care if you live in a municipality with a nearly full landfill and nowhere to build a new one due to NIMBY.

Yes, there is a lot of BS flying, but who could be blamed for not wanting the next landfill to move in as a neighbour?

[Dis]

no landfills in the valley in which I live. it's all houses. Simply no room for landfills in my city. It's crammed with houses (often only 6 feet apart).

but we have miles and miles of open desert outside of town.

[notyoueither]

Not the same here.

Our landfill was filling up. The city couldn't find a new one. We got a very good recycling policy because of it, and none of it involves multiple bins. In fact, my bin says 'don't bother'.

I loved the 'dot' BTW. The size of New York City. Why anyone shouldn't be overjoyed to have that move into the county or state eludes me.