So now we have the US congress excepting itself from recycling. We have to
recycle. They don't. What is recycling really all about? We are told that
we have too much garbage, and we have to dispose of it properly. But why
do we have too much garbage. What is it that we have now that we didn't
have 30 years ago? Look at your garbage. First of all, we receive an
enormous amount of unsolicited garbage in the mail. Secondly, there is an
explosion in the amount of packaging that we are forced to take as
consumers. Think about the hardware store. It used to be if you needed a
1" screw, you went to the hardware store and the man behind the counter
opened a drawer and pulled out a 1" screw. Now you search on your own for
a package of 1" screws wrapped in plastic. The guy who gave you the screw
is out of a job, and you get no help, too many screws, and some plastic
garbage.(Insert a joke about who gets screwed) Why has this happened?
First, they want as few employees as possible(people are trouble). Second,
they don't trust you not to steal a screw, so the wrap it up so large that
it is hard to palm. And no one seems to care that you might not realize
that screws come in different gauges too. But the garbage? Whose
responsibility is it. The consumer didn't ask for it.The producers and
retailers wanted it for their convenience. They are fouling the earth,
not the consumer, who is told to dispense with their garbage properly.
Recycle it means try to reuse it as much as is practical. But it is much
more practical not to produce it in the first place. I maintain that the
way to reduce our garbage is to tax the producer of the garbage at the
point of production. If you raise the price of the plastic wrap, the
producer and the retailer will use less of it. For those who don't plastic
wrap things will be able to undercut their price. The rate of tax can be
determined by experiment. Enough tax to reduce the problem. No more, no
less. No more disposable coke bottles.(Not so long ago, we used to bring
the empty bottles back to the grocery store for a refund. They were
washed out and reused.) Of course laws like this that are in the interest
of the people over the manufacturers will never be passed until we have
campaign finance reform. And by that I mean, our legislators no longer
depend on a war chest to be reelected.