Environmentalists?

I really don't think much about the environmental aspect of it all, either.

I do recognize that we humans are really making a mess of the one place that we have to live. One day we will render it too broken for us to live & we will all die off. Actually, more accurately, there will be some lynchpin species that we cause to go extinct... like bees... we would all starve if not for bee pollination.

But as for the planet... it'll be just fine for another 4-5 billion years til the sun goes red giant and engulfs it. It's been through WAY worse than we could ever throw at it. In 10 or 15 million years, which is a mere blip in geologic time, there would be very little but fossil record of our existence, all the plastics and petroleum by products would be broken down, any residual radiation from our power plants would have all but dissipated, and nature would have her way again.

I have enjoyed the answers so far.

I feel good about the money and would feel bad if I tossed the material on the road side. Of course I am being extreme but like most of us in the world we would prefer that all material gets recycled that is reasonable to do.

I have found that most of my clients want to recycle their "trash" and love that someone else will do it for them. So I make money by preforming a service for others who need to get rid of "trash" but don't want to expend the effort. Yea me. 73, Mike

Ok I will be the resident tree hugging weirdo , let me ask you this when you pick up those discarded cans , what's making a larger impact on the world ? The 3 cents of aluminum or saving a valuable resource that could be used in the future ?

Now magnify that , let's say you hit the lotto and money is of no concern . Would you still scrap ? What would you do with your time ?
yes money is a great motivator , but take money out of the equation and tell me if you would continue to scrap . If the anwser is yes then your doing this for more than money and yourself . Your doing this for the planet and future generations .

Maybe I'm channeling my inner Fillmore ( cars reference ) but where I work business park , many company's are sharing dumpster space . So we recycle all our cardboard and plastic seperatly . It saves dumpster space and it's the right thing to do . We have a older gentle man who drives around and picks up pallets , any metal left out back goes with me . None of these items cardboard, plastic,steel or wood are going to make anyone retire early in out business park .my point being the monetary amount is nominal in comparison to the amount of recyclable waste that we save from the landfill . I look at as we are filling 1/4 of the amount of dumpsters in the same time frame . Now multiply that by every business park in the world times the 2-3 times they pick up our trash .and your talking about some serious tonnage .

So I guess what I'm Trying to say is everything has a place or a purpose including ourselves and our trash . I guess the true beauty is the fact that people who do this mostly for the money are still to a degree helping the enviroment and humanity as a whole .

Sorry for the novel

Great topic.

I do it for both mother earth and for money. I take my short time on this planet as a gift. With that gift. I seek to help the globe in any way I can. I look to reduce my carbon footprint as much as possible.
I have two children. I like to think that my recycling efforts will, in some way shape or form, help keep this planet better for them than if I had made the choice not to recycle.

I have been a recycler for over 25 years. I proudly tell people that I have recycled everything from an aluminum can to a car and everything in between.
In 2012 I started actually tracking the amount of materials and weight that I have been able to literally- single handedly recycle. I also set yearly goals based on the type of items I may scrap vs previous years. To explain: when I scrapped Cars I set a goal to recycle 25,000 lbs a year. That can come pretty easily when you are taking a 3,000lb or 4,000lb stripped vehicle to the yard.

When I moved away from cars, I kept the 25,000 lb/yr goal. I have continued to hit that goal for the 2 years I have moved away from vehicles.

Recently, I sold my van and will be scaling back my recycling efforts a bit and thus I have reduced my goal to 15,000 lbs for 2017. I landed a job that I have been seeking for nearly a year. This coupled with a tighter schedule and less freedom than I had previously, as well as, a daily commute- made owning a 6800 lb van to drive in rush-hour traffic a bit illogical. Different vehicle, better mileage, less space to haul scrap. Life is a balance.

Since 2012 I have recycled 169,153 lbs of material. That is over 84 1/2 TONS.

I proudly feel as if I am doing my part for this big blue marble we are all on. I am trying to help the environment and re-use it's resources. The monetary compensation is surely a part of the recycling efforts, but with that said- every week I probably place 15-20 lbs of material to the curb to send to the curbside recycling/trash company. I have no market for glass, plastics or cardboard. BUT my local refuse company does. So it gets sent to them and they recycle it. I may receive $0.00 for that- but the world and karma thanks me!

Landfill, landfill, landfill ... what's all this worry about landfills?

Seriously I don't understand especially if ...

Originally Posted by auminer

But as for the planet... it'll be just fine for another 4-5 billion years til the sun goes red giant and engulfs it. It's been through WAY worse than we could ever throw at it. In 10 or 15 million years, which is a mere blip in geologic time, there would be very little but fossil record of our existence, all the plastics and petroleum by products would be broken down, any residual radiation from our power plants would have all but dissipated, and nature would have her way again.

I think most people begin for the money, and the environmental part is just an argument to make it seem more respectable to some. I may be wrong on this, don't shoot me.

Honestly, I do care about the planet. I think there are many dangers beyond just the bees for human survival. So is the landfill argument about water quality, or more about it all being an eyesore? Then if it is about water quality, why do we not take more personal steps to eliminate outdated energy in this country (oil, gas, coal, and nuclear)?

I don't really expect an answer. These are just some of my thoughts for you to ponder.

Originally Posted by HipoGear

Landfill, landfill, landfill ... what's all this worry about landfills?

People saw those barges getting bounced around in New York/New Jersey, nobody wanted to take the barges full of garbage, so the media came up with this story that we have no more room for landfills.

Get real.

There are fewer than 100 people per square mile in these United States, and that figure only goes up to about 109 when you take Alaska out of the picture. There's VAST swaths of the US currently sitting empty, ot even fit for farming. There's plenty of room for more landfills. (Just Not In My Back Yard...)

Sure, it's theoretically better to keep most stuff out of them. Particularly metals. It's far cheaper, both in terms of dollar cost and energy consumption, to recycle that can into new aluminum products.

But paper, not necessarily. By the time we manufacture collection bins, send trucks out to collect the recyclable paper from those bins, then process the collected refuse, it costs more money and sometimes more energy to recycle used paper than it would to grow and process fast growing, native-to-the-area, low maintenance, junk trees into virgin paper... which has more uses.

Sometimes I think the whole green movement is just a silly way that some people use to look down their noses at those rubes who aren't as erudite as themselves.

I started out scraping and recycling because it was part of my 9-5 job. Inventory and Inspection Manager in a machine shop. Everything that comes in the door, and everything that goes out, goes through me. I see exactly what and how much my company tosses out. Everything from shipping packaging to failed parts. Cardboard, plastic, rubbish, steel and aluminum. It is my job to reduce our waste. Do i care? Yes. I have a kid. I want him to grow up in the best environment possible.

When i started scraping on my own around 2 years ago, i tried my best to separate every last screw, every last plastic clip, every last thingamajig and dohicky. I never made a dime off of my scrapping for more than a year. I focused on what belonged where and how it could be used at a later date. Over time it got to be overwhelming. I finally scaled back on my tare-downs and just started to move material. Focus on collection and movement. Keep the valuable, processes the rest. Break things down asap and try not to horde. Hording is still a challenge to me. I see potential in so many things.

Why do i scrap? Money is nice, but i like seeing all the different items people are no longer using. I collect, reuse or recycle first and foremost. A little bit of fun cash on the side never hurt tho


-- Value is in the eye of the beholder. Monetary or Resource. Your call --

I think you hit on the operative word in your original post; balance. The world we live in is a complex ecosystem. There are predators and there are prey. There are humans and there are resources. These things are all balanced to equal out. That is why a species extinction event can cause so much problem for the planet (bees, for example). Whether we choose to believe it or not, we play a part in it all and what we do has an effect on the planet. We also live in a finite place. Natural resources are limited to stock on hand. There is no more being produced. If we had continued to use all new resources and not recycle, this planet would likely be seriously short on some materials by now. Certainly our efforts extend the live of the available resources we have.

Don't misunderstand where I stand. The money is good too. I am not inclined to work for free. But what I make doing this is pennies compared to what I made in business. I use the income to justify what I do but my satisfaction comes from reducing waste (even if it is a small amount) and extending the natural resources on this planet. I am not an environmental extremist, as the extreme in any argument is always wrong. However, as I said at the start, there need to be a balance of taking and giving to maintain the ecosystem in which we live.

I scrap and re-purpose for money but I am aware of the environment, i recycle at our town dump, it helps with taxes and I am against home to home pick when I can do it myself , I am also proud of the fact people seek me out to ask questions it has also been a money maker !!