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We like most other families have a recycling can and a trash can inside the house. The other day I was thinking what is the harm of tossing some orange peels or other perfectly harmless "trash" in the recyling bin? Would it hasten the end of the world you think?
Hi cost, low environmental benefit, excess supply and decreasing demand for recycled material and a high portion of it winds up in the landfill anyway. But then, landfills aren't really a problem in the first place.
We like most other families have a recycling can and a trash can inside the house. The other day I was thinking what is the harm of tossing some orange peels or other perfectly harmless "trash" in the recyling bin? Would it hasten the end of the world you think?
You have to think of actions in terms of magnitude....one family putting occasional orange peels in recycling=no effect. Ten million families not separating organic biodegradable discards from recycling might create material that is less usable or costs too much to clean and prepare for re-use. So, even less market than there is now.
Last edited by Parnassia; 10-18-2018 at 12:56 PM..
Gooey, smelly compost bins crawling with worms is where I draw the line. The earth doesn't need that much help.
To be honest, I find composting a bit intimidating myself. So I rip some stuff into little pieces and throw it into the yard. if I'm feeling ambitious (e.g., if we have a big get-together with lots of food), I collect a bunch and bring it to our local citizen convenience center which does composting (and then gives it away free)!
Ah, but vermiculture is a totally different thing. I HATE HATE HATE worms, but the vermi-worms are actually teeny and cute and not at all stinky.
We like most other families have a recycling can and a trash can inside the house. The other day I was thinking what is the harm of tossing some orange peels or other perfectly harmless "trash" in the recyling bin? Would it hasten the end of the world you think?
LOL - No, I don't think it would "hasten the end of the world." What it would do, is cause problems for the recycling centers. They don't and can't recycle orange peels or other similar "harmless trash." They recycle things that can be broken down and used again. Orange peels and the like will cause them to have to go through needless trouble trying to pick those things out from the items that are actually recyclable. Or possibly doing that could cause them to not even bother to recycle your items and instead, they all end up in a landfill.
Why would you want to do that? The only items that you should put in your recycle bin are items that can actually be recycled.
I have a lake in my backyard and all edible waste gets tossed into the lake, where the turtles, frogs, fish and other living creatures can eat them or they decompose naturally. I hate waste and I hate adding to landfills if I can possibly avoid doing that.
China is no longer accepting recycling from us and the U.S. companies that stepped in are now imposing penalties for processing of recycling that has too many contaminants. In my city, they have said we are not going to stop recycling so it's just going to cost more if we can't get people to cooperate. I'm sure other cities will simply discontinue.
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