Search Results: i feel so alone

My experience: It took a few months to remember to bring bags into store with you but once that habit was ingrained I don't even notice EXCEPT it takes a TINY BIT longer each checkout & I've noticed cashiers are MUCH more willing to help bag stuff now. All in all it seems like a good idea. Many corporate stores gave out canvas or polymer bags at 1st (some still do 3 years later) so you could show off their logo for free advertising for them (you've really gotta just admire the amazing system capitalism is!).

Here's my concern, the fact remains that recycling is just not economically feasible to break even, let alone make a profit. These are some statistics about recycling which vary greatly by region:

In the United States, only about 35% of TOTAL waste is recycled or composted, according to the EPA. Specifically, plastic recycling rates are particularly low, with only 5% to 9% of plastics actually being recycled. Paper & cardboard fare better, with about 66% being recycled. Glass recycling stands at approximately 27%. These figures highlight significant inefficiencies and challenges in the recycling process, including contamination & economic factors that limit the recyclability of certain materials.

If you ever watched the Penn & Teller show "Bullshit" (where they expose common misperceptions), they did an episode on recycling that was eye-opening (still available to view on Paramount+ & Fubo but $ versions).

As a "radical commie liberal Marxist sheeple" as I've been called here I must say that initially I was for recycle everything but now I'm not so sure recycling in the USA is feasible economicly - especially if my tax dollars are subsidizing a losing fight! I now understand the obvious, that Europe is able to pull off amazing feats of recycling but they are much smaller and already have the infrastructure in place - neither of which applies to the United States. The end result of the Penn & Teller show (spoiler alert) is we recycle cuz it feels good.