Recycling goes from boom to bust as economy stallsThis is from jaspar's forum.
Quote:
Dec 7, 8:24 PM EST
Recycling goes from boom to bust as economy stalls
By P.J. DICKERSCHEID
Associated Press Writer
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Norm Steenstra's budgeting worries mount with each new load of cardboard, aluminum cans and plastics jugs dumped at West Virginia's largest county recycling center.
Faced with a dramatic slump in the recycling market, the director of the Kanawha County Solid Waste Authority has cut 20 of his 24 employees' work week to four days from five, shuttered six of the authority's drop-off stations and is urging residents to hoard their recyclables after informing municipalities with curbside recycling programs that the center will accept only paper until further notice.
"The market is just not there anymore," Steenstra said.
Just months after riding an incredible high, the recycling market has tanked almost in lockstep with the global economic meltdown. As consumer demand for autos, appliances and new homes dropped, so did the steel and pulp mills' demand for scrap, paper and other recyclables.
More at the link.
I suppose it was inevitable that recyclables wouldn't be worth as much either, how can they be used when the economy has slowed down so much. This is very disappointing though. I hope it doesn't stop people from even considering recycling--after all, for some people it is just so easy to trash everything.
And another problem to be solved...
