[balrog666]

Recycling failed? Because it was too expensive? Where do you live? We recycle cans/bottles/paper once a week. They use the same trucks as for bagged garbage, just make 2 trips. Probably costs a little more in gas for the trucks and labor, but - volume of waste picked up is the same.

And did you know that in 98% of the country those same trucks drive to the same place on both trips, a local dump or incinerator?

And that's because it's cheaper. There's no real market for used plastic or metal (other than cleaned aluminum). And the newsprint recycling market is saturated with a 50 year supply at this very minute.

[dark_lord]

There's no real market for used plastic or metal (other than cleaned aluminum). And the newsprint recycling market is saturated with a 50 year supply at this very minute.

The market for recycled materials is down, but not saturated. Here are some charts:
Metal prices at the Larimer County recycling center.
Paper prices at the Larimer County recycling center. (ONP#8=newspapers, OCC=corrugated cardboard, OMG=magazines and catalogs, OMX=paperboard and low-grade paper)
Plastic prices at the Larimer County recycling center. PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastics include items such as soda and other drink bottles. HDPE-N (high density polyethylene-natural) includes milk jugs and other similar "natural-colored" containers. HDPE-C (high density polyethylene-colored) includes brightly colored items such as laundry detergent bottles.

My guess is that prices are down because the economy as a whole is down. Less manufacturing means less need for raw materials. But - the charts are clear. Recycling is an economically profitable endevour. Except for idiots in the NorthEastern part of the US, the recyclables are usually not being wasted in landfills - they are being sold to US industry which uses them as raw materials.