SB said: In the main, however, I agree with Anthony that recycling programs are like peeing your pants while wearing a blue suit; It gives you a nice warm feeling, but no-one notices.
EF here: Why should someone notice? In Holland making the most of materials appears to come naturally to most people... it's common sense and it usually saves you money. Over there you can buy a crate of 24 bottles of beer for about £10 and you get nearly half of that back when you take the bottles and the crate back.
It's only in places like the UK where ALL of the incentives to reuse or recycle have been removed that it just doesn't really happen...why should people care or 'notice' if there isn't anything in it for them?! (I omit people who do it for the love of the planet from this by the way - whatever shape, form or political opinion they may take!!)
Incentivise reuse... that is the answer... IMO...
Recycling...well, it may not be the best option but it beats adding to the piles of stuff in the ground, doesn't it?!
Ciao
EF
>From: Steven Bissell <
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>Reply-To: "Discussion forum for environmental ethics." <
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>To:
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>Subject: Re: Myths by Anti-environmentalists on Recycling
>Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 07:42:08 -0600
>
>Back in my "environmental activist" days I would remove all the packing
>material from purchases at the check-out counter and leave them for the
>store to deal with. I always felt that if you could make the retailer absorb
>the cost of recycling/disposal there might be some changes. My little
>campaign never caught on and I don't do it anymore, but I still recycle. The
>town I live in has a very large recycling program that pays for itself. You
>can recycle almost anything here including yard waste, chemicals, etc. I use
>the mulch made by the city on my garden and think that by-in-large the
>program does promote some awareness. I know my wife now checks the bottom of
>all containers to make sure they are in the "right" category for recycling.
>In the main, however, I agree with Anthony that recycling programs are like
>peeing your pants while wearing a blue suit; It gives you a nice warm
>feeling, but no-one notices.
>
>Steven
>
> Dada is not dead
>Watch your overcoat
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Discussion forum for environmental ethics.
>[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Lisa Dangutis
>Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2001 6:34 PM
>To:
[log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Myths by Anti-environmentalists on Recycling
>
>
>That applies, if and only if, the market stays on continued products, and
>doesn't diversify into new recyclables. I suppose it may have some
>validity in that case. (IMHO).
>
>Lisa D.
>
>In a message dated 08/21/01 7:40:25 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
>
[log in to unmask] writes:
>
> > What about the radical argument that a partial recycling program based on
> > market demands simply legitimizes the dominant throwaway society? That
> > recycling makes people feel good and thus not feel that they need to
>change
> > the disposable system itself.
> > ciao
> > -Tc
> > Anthony R. S. Chiaviello, Ph.D.
> > Assistant Professor, Professional Writing
> > Department of English
> > University of Houston-Downtown
> > One Main Street
> > Houston, TX 77002-0001