Recycling. Por Jane S. Shaw.
Recycling, however, is not always economically efficient or even environmentally helpful. The popular emphasis on recycling stems partly from misconceptions.
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Ironically, recycling does not eliminate environmental worries. Recycling is a manufacturing process and, like other manufacturing processes, can produce pollution. An EPA study of toxic chemicals found such chemicals in both recycling and virgin paper processing, and for most of the toxins studied, the recycling process had higher levels than the virgin manufacturing did. Nor will recycling more newspapers necessarily preserve trees, because many trees are grown specifically to be made into paper. A study prepared for the environmental think tank Resources for the Future estimated that if paper recycling reached high levels, demand for virgin paper would fall. As a result, writes economist A. Clark Wiseman, “some lands now being used to grow trees will be put to other uses.” The impact would not be large, but it would be the opposite of what most people expect—there would be fewer trees, not more. Finally, curbside recycling programs require additional trucks, which use more energy and create more pollution.
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Recycling is not a panacea for environmental problems. It is instead only one of several means for disposing of waste. Recycling is widely used where the economics are favorable but inappropriate where they are not. Government regulations may override the economics, but only at a high cost and by requiring actions, such as curbside recycling, that people will not do voluntarily.
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[...] Leitura complementar: A importância de explicar a reciclagem às crianças; A reciclagem e os preços de mercado; The meaning of “Earth Day”; Os custos económicos e ambientais da reciclagem. [...]
Pingback por Os custos económicos e ambientais da reciclagem (2) « O Insurgente — Agosto 28, 2010 @ 12:02
[...] a reciclagem às crianças; A reciclagem e os preços de mercado; The meaning of “Earth Day”; Os custos económicos e ambientais da reciclagem; Os custos económicos e ambientais da reciclagem [...]
Pingback por A reciclagem e a intolerância eco-religiosa « O Insurgente — Agosto 28, 2010 @ 16:02
[...] a reciclagem às crianças; A reciclagem e os preços de mercado; The meaning of “Earth Day”; Os custos económicos e ambientais da reciclagem; Os custos económicos e ambientais da reciclagem (2); A reciclagem e a intolerância [...]
Pingback por A reciclagem e a intolerância eco-religiosa (2) « O Insurgente — Agosto 29, 2010 @ 12:01