Recycling

RedEyedAbyss

It's really disappointing to realize that recycling actually doesn't help as much as people make it seem. It depends on the material, but in many cases, it actually takes more energy to produce a recycled product than to rebuild it from scratch. That's not even getting into the fact that sometimes the recycled material is just dumped into a landfill anyways.

Yeah, obviously it's much better to produce less waste in the first place by buying less stuff and reusing materials. Too bad that's counter to the goals of capitalism. Speaking of which, a bunch of other things that aren't as helpful to the environment as people would like you to believe (warning: RationalWiki).

And because it bears mentioning, I really did want to believe in recycling, but the facts painted a less flattering picture.

IanExMachina

The most reliable recycling is if you have a compost heap and grow stuff in your garden, as food waste is a huge issue.

RedEyedAbyss

Though I hear that a significant percentage of the food consumed by Westerners is thrown away despite still being perfectly edible. Think throwing away a quarter of what's on your dinner plate.

ClockworkUniverse

I've been trying to tell my parents for ages that recycling paper can't be nearly as useful as with plastic and metal, and yet it's still the only thing they bother with.

IanExMachina

^^

Yeah it is huge, hence why composting and growing your own helps cut down on the wasteage.

Nova

Though I hear that a significant percentage of the food consumed by Westerners is thrown away despite still being perfectly edible. Think throwing away a quarter of what's on your dinner plate.

I never did understand that.

Then again...

Vorpy

I recycle paper.

IanExMachina

I recycle jokes.

Vorpy

I recycle condoms.

Hatter

I recycle urine.

Vorpy

How do you set up a recycling project in your town?

IanExMachina

^

What do you mean recycling project?

Vorpy

Like, a center. A building that processes recyclables. How does that work anyway?

IanExMachina

You mean your town doesn't have one?

(I asked to clarify as over here they are called recycling centres.)

Hatter

A recycling center is a magical place where they take empty bottles and turn them into pixie dust, which cures climate change and gives orphans parents. In order to start up, you need a meek virgin girl, a unicorn, a copy of "An Inconvenient Truth" and a blender. Consult the Oracle, and she will tell you the way.

That's why you RECYCLE FUCKING EVERYTHING.

Vorpy

Yes, my town doesn't have one. Which is why I worry about it. We just...throw our shit outside. Well I don't but 70% of the people do, saying "It's going to the dump anyway, and the homeless dogs will get into it, and the mountain winds will just blow it back into the streets, so what's the point?"