We don't use the bluebox system.
My past business experience in the recycling world has taught me that only recyclers get rich off of selling the commodity ... the planet really doesn't win through this pseudo green gesture.
Lets say that you wash out all of your cans , tie up your newspapers , fold your cardboard ,sort your paper, clean out the plastic containers. How much time does it take for you to bluebox in the specified manner ?
What you don't know is this, the paper, cardboard , metal and plastic is taken back to the recycling plant and dumped and sorted. The company doesn't care if you have cleaned it out or not....it doesn't matter. Each type is baled and graded before reselling it to a company , usually based in China or India. How much pollution is generated sending tonnes of recyclables to the far east ? Take a look for yourself at http://www.recycle.net/
If a commodity such as newspaper is a loss leader.... that is the recycling company can't sell it... guess where it goes .... the landfill.
Many recycling companys own landfills , GreenLane , a local company sold their landfill to the City of Toronto for millions of dollars ensuring a convoy of inefficient diesal trucks transporting Toronto's trash 24/7. http://www.greenlanegroup.com/
I'm not saying that waste diversion is evil or that a business shouldn't make a dollar off of our waste.
Recycling in this manner only encourages the consumer to generate more garbage.... that big screen box just has to be folded and tied , before being tossed beside the cans for recycling.It's all lipservice to saving the environment.
Our family went through mass change in the last four years and part of the reorganization and team building included evaluating every facet of our household organization.
We decided to simplify ,declutter and find solutions to ensuring that we stopped generating four bags of garbage plus recycling a week.
We no longer....
Buy newspapers .... we read online
Any magazines are sent off to the local medical clinic for homegrown recycling and I only buy one magazine a month down from 5.
I use cloth bags at the grocery store and usually buy all locally produced "food" from the local market .
We refuse to take home any product that comes in a large box. I'll buy the item if the retailer keeps the box.
We reduced our dependence on packaged food by 80% thereby saving not only the world but hopefully our health. That means no softdrinks,junkfood,hamburger helper.... you get the gist.
We evaluate all consumer purchases carefully and refuse to give into impulse buying in order to avoid junking that same product into the garbage in future years.
On a side note, my reorganization included a complete "purge" of all of our family goods prior to moving . I sent off unwanted furniture to an auction house, gave clothes,household items and books to local charities in order to downsize and cleanse before our move. Each child participated in the same exercise and gave away old clothes,old and unused toys.
It was similar to cleaning out your parents house as part of the closure of an estate. Every piece of "treasure" ends up in the garbage,your attic or as part of the junk seen at any auction house.
Our precious items do not consist of of plastic,glass or paper . It's in the spoken word , gesture or touch to the people we love.
That was the truth which we discovered.
Take that Oprah.
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