Posted on 06/21/2015 3:21:37 AM PDT by Libloather
**SNIP**
Once a profitable business for cities and private employers alike, recycling in recent years has become a money-sucking enterprise. The District, Baltimore and many counties in between are contributing millions annually to prop up one of the nation’s busiest facilities here in Elkridge, Md. — but it is still losing money. In fact, almost every facility like it in the country is running in the red. And Waste Management and other recyclers say that more than 2,000 municipalities nationwide are paying to dispose of their recyclables instead of the other way around.
In short, the business of American recycling has stalled. And industry leaders warn that the situation is worse than it appears.
“If people feel that recycling is important — and I think they do, increasingly — then we are talking about a nationwide crisis,” said David Steiner, chief executive of Waste Management, the nation’s largest recycler that owns the Elkridge plant and 50 others.
The Houston-based company’s recycling division posted a loss of nearly $16 million in the first quarter of the year. In recent months, it has shut nearly one in 10 of its biggest recycling facilities. An even larger percentage of its plants may go dark in the next 12 months, Steiner said.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Could be the next promo ad for Husseincare.
“Could be the next promo ad for Husseincare.”
Na, it’s to close to the truth. Husseincare can only be
promoted with outright lies and deception, like liberalism
in general. Good article, thanks for the post.
The utter ignorance of the commenters on that article makes me fear for our future..
Recycling companies, sift through the trash and separate out valuable materials that can, well, be recycled. They sell those materials, in bulk, and make very hefty profits, that should more than cover their costs, as industry can buy from them cheaper than buying new, raw material. Now, the taxpayer is to pick up the operating costs so they can make more profits? I know several recycling plant owners and they are extremely wealthy, which is fine. Wish I were. But I don’t see why the taxpayer should subsidize their expenses.
If you like your paper, you can keep your paper.
You’re right. O M G.
The same people believe government services are free.
At my county run recycling facility they are very anal about making sure you put the correct items in the properly labeled doors. There are no dividers inside the bin. Yep, one big pile in there.
Before recycling became a religion back in the older days the coke and milk glass bottles were returned and reused. Also Americans are experts at recycling unprofitable, worthless politicians. Basura....
With the government driving our industries out of the country by taxes and regulations there is less demand for recycled materials. Plus now the recyclers are now being taxed and regulated to fill the Mammon’s maul that we call government.
For years I’ve called recycling a government mandated industry with no markets. (admitted overstatement)
A quarter of a century ago there was a proper recycling industry, but then the government mandates commenced, glutting the markets with products. Prices and profits collapsed, and materials started to be stored for future price increases. The glut has increased, and with demand in today’s economy reducing further, the profitability of the entire enterprise becomes completely predictable.
Modern recycling is the stupidest business model ever. What businesses can depend on all that uncompensated labor to marshall their raw materials for them? If the companies that recycle can’t afford to buy their feedstocks it’s not a business, it’s a government boondoggle.
ef recycling. never have and never will. trash is trash.
——and make very hefty profits-—
The thrust of the article belies that statement
they actually incur very hefty losses. Those losses, the economic reason for not recycling, clearly show there is no valid reason for recycling everything on a grand scale
For years recycled trash was exported to China for processing. No more:
http://qz.com/117151/us-states-banned-from-exporting-their-trash-to-china-are-drowning-in-plastic/
I get an extra dumpster for recycling. I recycle properly in it, but the other one has had mattresses, couches, tables, all kinds of chairs, wood work, stucco (sent a whole house of stucco once). I appreciated the free receptacle.
First of all, the article ignores one key point. Items that are recycled don not have to be disposed of, which also costs money. When my former suburban NY town voted for full, mandatory, recycling...which also involved the residents separating into paper, plastic, metals, and other..which meant everyone had to have FOUR containers..after one year..our annual cartage bill...what we paid to the the county incinerator to burn our trash...was cut in half..We opened a recycling center..staffed by volunteers..and aside what we earned for the bulk recyclables, we also collected old computers, phones..electronic stuff..which we sold in bulk..I assume it ultimately went to the far east where they extracted the precious metals. Our annual trash bill was almost zero.
I don’t recall ever hearing that recycling is profitable. It was always one of those things that SEEMED like it OUGHT to be a good idea but never was (economically).
In order to get the behavior they want, our rulers in government make certain behaviors mandatory. Human nature being what it is, many people (including the tree huggers) fail to properly sort their recyclable trash. Costs rise. Taxes rise. Whining reporters and college professors complain.
In order to get the behavior they want, our rulers in government pick the “winners” in green industries. Human nature being what it is, the green industry takes advantage of the slow moving bureaucracy to make obscene profits. Whining reporters and college professors complain.
Some recycling ideas work. You see very few aluminum cans or glass bottles along the roads in states that have $.05 or $.10 return deposits. But those deposits match up with human nature and no one forces you to return the containers.
Ditto. I’m the only one my street that does not put out a recycling can.
I’m guilty. Our town charges for trash by the pound. We have to buy stickers and put one on the trash bags for every 25 lbs. But, the recycled junk on the blue bins is no charge.
That my FRiends is the absolute only reason I put out a blue bin every week.
I don’t break down boxes. I don’t wash out jars and cans. I don’t smash cans. I don’t look for the little triangle on the plastic. I just don’t care.
I do know that curbside recycling is nothing but a feel good panacea for the masses. I do know that the same trash crew just rotates back through a few minutes later and takes the bins in the same truck. I do know that while curbside recycling is just dumb, certain levels of industrial recycling are useful and cost effective.
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