Recycling Eyeglasses Is a Waste of Money

Post by dahart » Sun, Jul 03, 2016, 3:19 PM UTC

maxerickson wrote: post #89

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is a weird American political myth, like evolution not being real, or global warming being a Chinese conspiracy, or electric cars being worse than gas due to coal. You go online and you find the same talking point, the same urban myths (they just dump it in a landfill!), the same links to professional political pundit's think pieces rather than to actual expert opinion.

Recycling here is actually on the chopping block because they can't sell the materials at a price that covers the costs. They've never taken glass for that reason. The economics are better for bigger population centers, but here the modest amount of material and trucking really put pressure on it. Of course there are several businesses paying for metal in the area.

Post by redthrow » Sun, Jul 03, 2016, 3:59 PM UTC

dahart wrote: post #88

redthrow wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think Globally, Act Irrationally: Recycling http://econlib.org/library/Columns/y2007/Mungerrecycling.htm... http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2007/07/munger_on_recyc.htm...

Munger makes the same mistake that Tierney does by focusing on something that's easy to attack, and sounds good on the face, but is in fact nearly irrelevant to the discussion. Tierney's argument that it takes energy to recycle is completely moot; the point isn't energy at all, the point is to recover materials & to slow production and consumption of wasteful single use containers. Combine that with our ability to us…

Post by dingleberry » Sun, Jul 03, 2016, 5:25 PM UTC

chillwaves wrote: post #73

dingleberry wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

for motorbike, it's okay because the distance to front wheel is short and my vision is sharp up to the distance. i can't read number plates and stuffs clearly; however, i don't drive to see those things clearly. my mission is move from a to b without collisions.

Motorbike without vision is so much safer than car without vision. I'm relieved to hear.

Post by josephpmay » Sun, Jul 03, 2016, 7:27 PM UTC

titzer wrote: post #87

josephpmay wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's energy efficient, but it lessens the demand for tree farms, which themselves are good for the environment.

I haven't seen that before. How are tree farms good for the environment?

Post by brownbat » Sun, Jul 03, 2016, 10:35 PM UTC

legulere wrote: post #72

brownbat wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, there's one hiccup. You can't privately dump. Well, you can try. Since you're selling at a loss on the open market, others with capital will see an unexpected price and wonder if you have developed a unique efficiency. After some basic research, some will guess at what you're trying to do. They then have some great options. Invest in competitors or substitutes for the coming reduced supply. Or, stockpile the go…

> Invest in competitors or substitutes for the coming reduced supply Which will be at a loss, so you need just as much money. This is especially hard in developing countries. The market will still be destroyed, and you'll end up with a oligopoly. > Or, stockpile the goods you sell, Many things can't be stockpiled, and stockpiling also costs money (see the above) One example where private dumping is tried, is uber wit…