The economics of recycling was taught to us by both Mises and Hazlitt over 70 years ago. It hasnt changed and will never change. If a resource is getting more scarce it will get more expensive and at some point it will get worth producing it from recycled materials. But until then, its better to trash old stuff made from the material and produce new products using virgin material. Recycling is mostly a very wasteful activity, aimed at benefiting the few, by giving the populace some action to feel good about themselves. How do we tell when recycling is wasteful? It is pretty easy: note when it is an activity forced upon society by politicians, or when the activity needs forced funding (tax payer money) to sustain itself. The opposite of wasteful is profitable, and you never need to force people to engage in profitable activities.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 08:23:41 +0000
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