Just curious because sometimes I wonder if the effort of recycling doesn't waste more energy. All the hot water that we use to clean empty containers and the effort and fuel that goes into the truck and crew to pick it up has to cost us. Should we be looking into waste reduction ie: less packaging and throwing out fewer items? Could making more intelligent choices about what we buy to begin with be the true solution?
215280
I think it does help. In Europe they have a policy that most of a building has to be recycled.  It does take energy to recycle, but over all it takes more energy to make it from scratch.  Not to mention the limited resources that are depleted and destroyed over time.  Just my two cents and your millage may very.  :)
640227
I don't believe you can.  It would definitely help if the environment was at the forefront of most American's minds so that littering and dumping of chemical wastes would cease and maybe some of the negative effects would eventually dissipate.  But private owned companies are becoming more and more greedy and regulators are not encouraged to watch dog over them so the world is dissipating and we along with it.
314453
This would not be possilbe.  In the process of digesting and assimilating these essential elements, our bodies create some waste or by-products.  We have to get rid of it somehow.\n\nOur bodies are not Carnot engines - we cannot attain 100% efficiency.  The second law of thermodynamics tells us this (entropy is increasing).\n\nPlus, there are very few pleasures as great as sitting down and passing a nice well-formed turd.
542789
I think we need to look more at how we buy our items.  \n\nWho is out there buying all these blister packs?  Why can't store goods be on a shelf as just the good, or a liquid in a recyclable glass jar.  This is not a consumer recycling issue.  It is a distribution chain issue.\n\nI work in manufacturing.  We get good delivered to us with as little packing as possible.  We then sort plastic, thin foam and cardboard for recycling.  We do not do this because we love the enviroment. . .It is cheaper to find a creative way to not package an item, but get it to the process without damage.  \n\nWalMart and all of the box stores are demanding how product comes packaged so they can be hung.  Blister packs are designed to appeal to you the buyer.  Since, we are not actively choosing non-blister pack items, the cycle goes on.  Blister packing is an example.\n\nAt Christmas, think about how that Barbie would have looked in a plain brown paper bag with the accesories just thrown in.  That works and just one staple and a small bag to toss.  Now get radical and think how it would look to have NO plastic crap toys under the tree.  Yea, the kids would cry one year, but they would learn to love the new way of life just as well.  \n\nLast radical thought. . .When was the last time you brought a bag or crate container to the store to shop?  How come singles cost less than a pack, but there is an additional box to throw away?  Why does cereal need a bag and a box?  Why do drinks come in packaging instead of refilling our personal use containers?  Why do we use Kleenex, paper towels, napkins and the Japanese use cloth towels and a "washlet" toilet?\n\nJust a thing or 2 to think about.
230561
Actually, it supon us to judge whether the energy used up is taken as GOOD or WASTED...\nbut our (humans) point electric energy is not considered as harmfull...<for more clarification contact me>
316121
How about a friggin car you can run on food waste?  I'm tired of paying rich bastards who play price fixing games making money off me.  Ethanol or Methanol sound like a better alternative if we can all start making our own fuel without blowing up a few city blocks.\n\nSaw a news bit about a water-fueled motor the other day...\n\nJust read that answer above.  170 miles on a cell?!?  Are you freakin' kidding me?!?  My 113hp/69ft. lb motorcycle with a 4.5 gal tank does over 200 miles!  AND, it does wheelies!
403991
Cleaning out the recycle bin permanently deletes files that you no longer use. While in the bin, they can be retrieved, but once   the bin is emptied, they are gone.\n\nWhat good does it do? It opens up space on your hard drive, eliminating the computer's need to "carry" the files. If you have a lot in it, your computer will actually run faster and more efficiently. \n.
93942
Hydrogen is less efficient that oil right now but if we developed a more clean way of making it (like photobiosynthesis) it would be much better for the environment, and the switch has to start somewhere.\n\nIt is my opinion that it would be better for the environment if we just ran out of fuel, because people tend to destroy the planet when they have lots of energy, regardless of how clean the energy is. It's the greed that is bad for the environment, not the fuel. Hydrocarbons could actually be made to be very environmentally friendly if car and energy companies actually cared about environmental health more than stuffing their pockets with cash.
53010
Mother earth! saves resources...reduces waste....reduces fuel consumption from making things from scratch.   I live in San Diego and I put my recycles out for the homeless, so that they can empower themselves and in inproving their situation.... It is better than giving money to a begger.
628611
Hardly. Methane, ethanol (not yet for cars but already viable for power plants), vegetable oil etc.  If we really had to stop burning fossil fuel, the current service stations could distribute the new fuel.  One of the problems with bringing out alternate fuels is that in order to 'compete' with gasoline, it has to be reasonably available to people driving across the country.  Distribution is a tough issue for some of the products.
606922
No, as a former truck driver I know that slowing down saves gas, I gained 1 mile per gallon by slowing down 7 miles per hour, just think if everybody did that, I know they would find another way to keep the prices high, but the point is it would help to go 55, it also makes a difference on driver fatigue and how 4 wheelers interact with you.
297831
The average person can:\n\n1) Recycle as many materials as possible.\n2) Drive as infrequently as possible.\n3) Drive as slow as possible (for every 5 mph over 60 mph, the average car loses about 7% fuel efficiency).\n4) Eat as low on the food chain as possible.  A lot of energy and materials goes into creating one pound of beef ... for the same amount of energy and material, you get many more pounds of vegetable matter (which can include protein via soy) for food.\n5) Vote for political candidates which are concerned about the environment.
180066
It makes people feel better about them selves to recycle, like when they cut down a forest to build a subdivision that there home is in, to make up for it they buy a hybrid to go along with their Chevy Yukon. The benefits are never enough.
133377
There has always been alternatives, however there is a very big dividing line on what is better for the environment. Some say that paper waste is a big problem, but not many people realize that if they would only recycle, most of these environmental issues would be 1/2 answered. As far as I know, they do make plastics that will decompose. As we all well know, paper will decompose faster. Worries about trees, have gotten greater around the areas that are in danger of disappearing forever. Check into plastics that decompose fast. Then check that number against the %-age of that plastic which is recycled. You have a very good concern. I would love to hear some different opinions on this matter... Have a nice day!
34860
How about we just stop driving cars that give less than 20 miles/gallon? That will accomplish just as much as alternative energy and it's probably easier. \n\n\nBy the way, can you guess the 5 countries that we get most of our oil from?\n\nWould you have guessed Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and Nigeria are 4 of the top 5? Saudi Arabia is the only Middle Eastern country in the 5 (at #3).\n\nThat last comment is exactly why it can't happen. People aren't willing to sacrifice the looks of a car in order to lessen our dependence on oil. Everyone wants someone else to solve their problems instead of doing something about it themselves. Typical.
86869
It's where products are put into containers that can be recycled, reused are themselves recycled. They can degrade after they are disgarded and don't hurt the environment. Some companies are working on plastic wrap from soy and fruit (like fruit roll up only much thinner) Some companies use real popcorn instead of styraofoam peanuts. Stuff like that.
622558
it's a profitable industry in the private sector. If you are looking for government expenditures on recycling programs u would have to look it up in the federal budget.