is recycling more expensive?

"Do the Benefits of Recycling Outweigh the Costs?"

By : Larry West


Summary: This article shows that it is possible that recycling may cost more than the cost of regular garbage pick-up and disposal.

According to Michael Shapiro, director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Solid Waste, “A well-run curbside recycling program can cost anywhere from $50 to more than $150 per ton…trash collection and disposal programs, on the other hand, cost anywhere from $70 to more than $200 per ton. This demonstrates that, while there’s still room for improvements, recycling can be cost-effective.” This sounds accurate to me because this is what i've been raised to believe. This article makes me think maybe society is just brainwashed to THINK recycling is cheaper when it maybe it is not. I've never personally compared. Although i know recycling makes much more sense to me than wasting things, I am not informned on any of the costs. "According to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the benefits of recycling plastic and glass were outweighed by the price -- recycling cost twice as much as disposal." This article has decent sources (atleast it claims) But only the director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Solid Waste has a direct quote. This article does make me want to look more into the facts and statistics for myself. It also makes me wonder if recycling is more expensive do the actual outcomes outbalenace the financial cost?

http://environment.about.com/od/recycling/a/benefit_vs_cost.htm