Do you recycle?

[Chuck52]

Several threads lately have touched on the topic of environmentalism, often with the more conservative of our brethren complaining bitterly about what they see as the excesses of various environmental organizations. As I was sorting the stuff we recycle, I started to wonder if the great ideological chasm which apparently separates liberals from conservatives is at least partially bridged by this activity. I must admit I’ve never thought carefully through the environmental and economic impacts (if they can be separated) of the recycling I do. When I was given the option of relatively easy recycling of glass, cans, plastic and paper, I just did it under the assumption that it would at least help extend the lifetime of the local landfill. Since I moved out of town, I no longer have the option of curbside recycling, but I continue as before, toting my stuff to the recycling centers in the nearby city. It’s no big deal for me, and has become a habit. I’m certainly not a fanatic about it; things get in the trash that could be recycled, and I don’t have fits. When my son who is now in college was living at home, very little got past him. He’d pull anything out of the trash that could be recycled. He’s now a member of the Sierra Club chapter at his college and spent Sunday picking up trash along a river near there. I can see myself volunteering for that kind of project, but am mainly content to minimize my own contribution to the trash that litters the landscape.

So, how about it? Is recycling just another weeny thing that bleeding heart liberals do to make themselves feel good? Or is it a reasonably non-ideological worthwhile activity? Does the great ideological chasm have side branches?

Chuck

 

[RobertN]

We recycle glass, aluminum, and paper/carboard. It keeps stuff out of the dumps, makes less trash for our weekly pickup, and keeps some stuff out of the landfill.

Our son sorts it, and uses the money he gets to buy books.

 

[knucklehead]

We separate glass, plastic, cans, and returnables. To answer your question, I really wonder if the energy expended to collect, transport, and proccess these things is worth the effort.

We also re-use a lot of things. We've never bought a lawnmower - everyone gives us theirs, and we look out for decks, wheels, and handle assemblies all the time. We continually bring home building products from the dump, uh, transfer station - a hammer, flatbar, and old hand saw always go to the dump now. We also watch for bikes and various hard parts, like small engines, sheet metal (how fast can you field strip a washing machine?), electric motors, fans, etc., etc.. Wire brushes and spray paint have short lives around here.

I rebuilt a very rusty pig feeder using the washing machine skin and saved $200 for our neighbors - and got some lovely pork. The tomato sauce that is going into the freezer was processed by a nice glass blender from the dump. It's hard to remember everything - there's a long list of things, which reminds me that I need to post for info one one of them that needs fixin'.

I'm sure other places have similar sayings, but I was taught that we were to "Use it up, Wear it out, Make do, or Do without" up here. I guess I could say I just wait around and collect things other people who don't follow that creed, discard.

Anyone want to throw away a one-ton, 4wd truck?

 

[fishman]

Chuck52,

Well, I recycle and started when I was enrolled in a bleeding-heart liberal-minded university. Well, the recycling thing stuck with me, but not too much of the other stuff. I'd have to say though, that I find far fewer recyclers in the conservative crowd than in the other camp.

 

[knucklehead]

John - see above.

How about that moniker connnnserrrrvvvativvve.

Conserve: To keep in a safe or sound state

/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[Stonewall]

I think it has more to do with the concept of stewardship of the land than it does with liberal vs conservative mind set. I am a middle of the road environmentalist, (my wife is a certifiable tree hugger - I've got pictures) and my neighbor across the road is a dyed in the wool NRA conservative. One morning we were both taking our recycles out to the curb and he made this comment,

"This recycling is the end of it! If it weren't for doing the right thing and saving the planet I wouldn't "mess" with it!"

We both laughed and went about our days. Americans are used to having more than we need. In Europe recycling has been a way of life for over a century.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

It doesn't take a liberal or a conservative to conserve things. Recycling reduces waste and I, as a conservative (moving rapidly towards libertarian) I don't see any reason to waste anything. I've been pretty much recycling in much the same manner as you have but I never thought of it as a political issue.

As for picking up trash along a river, this past Saturday, me and 7 other rather conservative members of our local Rotary International club, picked up trash along both sides of a 2 mile stretch of road that is "sponsored" by our local Rotary. That too is not a political issue, it is just that some of us figured out that some segments of society are always going to be disrespectful to their surroundings and rather than let it pile up we pick it up.

In Indiana (or at least in the area around where I live) there are signs along side roads everywhere stating what group is sponsoring that section of the roadway. All it means is that a certain group (neighborhood associations, clubs, football teams, boy scouts, etc.) keeps the trash picked up from along side the road. It takes an hour or two a day, 2 or 3 days a year and for that the roads around here stay reasonably litter free ..... inspite of the morons that live around here that think "The world is my trashcan".

Kent

 

[Chuck52]

To all of the above, not just Kent, who happened to be last:

Looks like my question was answered. Good to know we can agree on more than just the joys of tractors. I'm beginning to think I should follow Mark's example and shop for stuff at the "exchange" center. I'm way too cheap to buy weights for the front end of my L210, and maybe I can find something heavy!

Chuck

 

[BigDave]

<font color=blue> Looks like my question was answered. </font color=blue>

Does this mean we can't make any more comments. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif I thought I had something to contribute, but I guess not. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Wingnut]

Mark,

I can relate .... it's not only good to reuse, it's also a lot of fun. Anyone can go buy a new pigfeeder .... but using "yankee ingenuity" and fashioning one is fun and gives a sense of accomplishment.
Long before I even seriously thought about it, I was making 2 trips a year to the local dump (uhhhh, yeah, you're right, they called it a transfer station too, although they buried most everything that didn't get "claimed"). 2 Trips a year was all the non-recyclable rubbish we generated. But, I was stopping at the recycle station most evenings with the sorted bottles, glasses, plastics, newspaper, etc.
Funny, though, I would never have considered it a political thing .... I always just thought dumps were a finite thing and that if they recycled the plastic, or aluminum, or made insulation from the newsprint, that I would eventually benefit from lower prices, etc.
The sad thing, to me, is that recycling seldom accomplishes anything, since the refuse frequently ends up in landfills because of a dearth of economical uses.

pete