Talk:Recycling

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To-do list for Recycling: edit  · history  · watch  · refresh
  • Expansion (Plastic is missing from several sections)
    • Statistics for various localities - what percentage of waste is recycled?
See e.g. [1] (RealAudio)
    • What can be recycled?
    • Process
    • Criticism
  • Referencing
Article Creation and Improvement Drive Recycling was the Article Creation and Improvement Drive for the week spanning from Sunday, 10 June 2007.

For more details, see the Article Creation and Improvement Drive history.

--Alex 13:19, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Towards FA status Partial 'To Do' list for article

I came upon the AID post and dropped in, and I wanted to just jot down a couple of comments after skimming. I'm NOT writing this in lieu of working on the article or in order to criticise, please take it in the spirit in which it is given; sincere wish to support the article's improvement.

  • The info on history seems too detailed in some places and filled with minutae; for instance, we don't need to know what colours the bins are in Ontario.
Agree--Alex 09:26, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
  • OTOH, I think it's way too US- and NA-centric. What about recycling in the rest of the world? Maybe do comparisons of comparable economies/cultures with different recycling programmes. What about the developing/third world? Do we have something to teach them about recycling, or are they teaching us? Or maybe they're just starting to pick up our bad habits?
Agree--Alex 09:26, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
  • I agree with 'reduce/reuse isn't recycling'. I think there's so much more about recycling we could have in the article, we don't need to dilute it. There should be reduce and reuse articles, or maybe an article on the 3Rs.
See waste hierarchy article along with waste reduction (reduce) and reuse - also need improving--Alex 09:26, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
  • What about the mechanics of recycling (I know that's already on the to do list)? What products are made from recycled materials? How does recycling affect economies? Is it more expensive in every jurisdiction (the NY one is mentioned). How does it affect micro-economies (dumpster divers, overseas processors)? How has it affected the producers of first-generation products (the products that are recycled)? How have they adapted? Are they cashing in on the recycling craze, or are they in competition with the products?
Agree but must not be confused with separation. Kerbside collection and materials recovery facilities are not methods of recycling they are methods of sorting recyclates prior to being recycled. --Alex 09:26, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
  • What is the future of recycling? I know speculation isn't encyclopedic, but quoting projections and plans can be.
Rationale required to look at energy requirements for recycling and pollution caused by methods of collection of materials for recycling. Must be integrally linked to climate change. --Alex 09:26, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
  • What are some recycling technologies? How are they being utilised? Who is responsible for them? Is this a good career to get into? What are the job prospects?
Plastic extrusion & thermal depolymerisation, crushing of glass into aggregate, aluminium smelting are some off the top of my head. Also anaerobic digestion &composting are sometimes considered recycling of biodegradable waste.
  • Need some better pictures. There are so many things we could depict, it's tough to come up with a list.
Agree--Alex 09:26, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
  • What about recycling legislation? How do municipalities/regions/countries differ? What does the UN and WHO etc have to say about it?
See waste legislation for articles covered in this rough area, there is room to specialise more focused on recycling. In the UK we have council recycling targets but they arent statuatory unlike landfill allowances
  • Another addition IMO should be 'the dark side of recycling'; the practice - all the examples I know of are by the first world - of sending large-scale materials that would be too expensive to reclaim in our economy to developing and third-world economies for reclamation, often without the environmental and occupational protocols that protect us. The oceanfront city in India whose primary (sole?) economic contributor is ship dismantlement, with (IIRC) a death rate among workers of one per day,[2] and the practice of sending computers to China for reclamation of precious metals etc,[3] to the huge detriment of the local environment, are two examples I can think of offhand.--Anchoress 16:34, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

If I think of anything else, and/or when I have time to work on some of these ideas, I'll be back.--Anchoress 13:56, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

I agree most the information in the overview and history section consists of numerous quite disjointed statements pertaining to the recycling approach in very specific areas (i.e. cities and US states). What would be better is more generalised information and statistics stating what is the "general recycling plan" in countries and regions. Canderra 14:18, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

Agreed, much too much detail on US recycling policies -- how much a bottle is worth in each state is hardly noteworth material. Zorath 03:25, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Round two

After watching the article evolve and contributing a bit myself, I am beginning to wrap my brain a bit around the shape of the article and what it is missing/how we can provide it.

I have an idea for a section, it may be a slight re-working of some existing material, but I think it would work well as a unit. I imagine a section containing the following:

  • Overview of regional, government-run recycling programmes (household recycling programmes).
    • Why are they implemented? We know about the NY example (although the reference is an Op-Ed piece and IIRC it's a few years old), attributing the enthusiasm for recycling to PC thuggery, but for instance here in Vancouver, British Columbia, where we are running out of landfill, the GVRD is very serious about recycling irrespective of the cost.
    • What are the statistics on compliance? For this and the preceding bullet, I am not suggesting we do a city-by-city comparison, but (if we can find the statistics) an overview showing ranges. For instance in Vancouver, we recycle all but 10% of recyclable paper.
    • Are there municipalities where recycling is break-even or profitable? Why is that? We could write a lot about the reasons why municipalities enact recycling programmes: in some cases 'me too-ism', in some cases running out of landfill, the cost of paying other principalities to take their garbage being too high, 'training' citizens so they'll be compliant when recycling does become profitable, or just caving in to public opinion.
  • What about privately-run recycling programmes, as in corporate initatives, or governments that recycle.
    • First, there is the issue of companies that have chosen recycling within their manufacturing stream, like that carpet company, don't remember the name offhand, that has committed to (and achieved) reducing its environmental footprint by completely closing its resource circuit.
    • Then there are institutional 'deskside' recycling programmes. Are businesses ahead of the curve, or are they behind? What prompts businesses to embark upon them? Does it cost them money, or do they save money? How does it help their PR and employee relations? Are there a couple of examples of companies? Maybe a couple of success stories, and maybe a couple who initiated recycling programmes and then abandoned them.
  • A more comprehensive (not necessarily longer, just more complete) overview of the economics of recycling; the tension between the cost and availability of raw materials, the cost of landfill, the cost of collection, sorting and re-processing, the cost of bad publicity, the (environmental and economic) costs of unrecycled recyclables (acid in paper, chemicals in electronics and batteries), etc.

--Anchoress 14:03, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

  • Also, not necessarily in the same section, we could talk a bit about a) how technology has evolved as a result of recycling, for instance: window envelopes with pressed paper instead of mylar windows; watertight containers made out of pressed cardboard; biodegradable coffins; padded envelopes cushioned with shredded paper rather than bubble wrap; products with the 'non-recyclable' portions easily removed, etc, and b) how technology has hindered recycling, such as: various amalgam products such as juice boxes; plastic and wax coatings on paper products; items printed with 'recyclable' symbols and instructions when they aren't actually recyclable, etc. Anchoress 14:34, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What is recycling?

There was a common misconception in this first paragraph. Recycling is not the collection of recyclable articles. Recycling is the recovery and reprocessing into a useful form of resources that would commonly be disgarded. Collection of recyclable elements of the waste separately is kerbside collection. Although commonly it is commonly politically and publicly accepted it is beneficial to the environment it is not necessarily the case. Extra collection of recyclable waste elements increases the amount of vehicles on the road, traffic pollution and global warming.

It is becoming technically possible to continue collections of unsorted waste and separating the recyclable elements mechanically. This would reduce vehicle movements and carbon release into the atmosphere.

--Alex 13:04, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

I suggest there should be an extra section entitled "Recovery". This would enable an unbiased view of how the recyclable elements can be collected. This is a more up to date stand point and more technically correct especially in the present onset of global warming. --Alex 13:11, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

just a suggestion, if a new section is needed for Recycling, why not try to add Food Waste Recycling? As i knew, Japanese can recycle our daily food waste into organic fertilizer. This technology is new to me, but i dont know about others. For more information on who we can do it in household, please check at www.emamerica.com . i had limited information on this matter and need more contribution.218.111.174.215 16:32, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reuse

Reuse is not recycling and is covered in a separate section according to the waste hierarchy --Alex 09:00, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

I have posted a new article on reuse, made from my lecture notes on the subject. reuse Supposed 05:53, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Reuse shouldn't link here - it's not the same thing - consider glass bottles: recycling = smash up, melt down, re-form, reuse = clean & refill. Reuse uses much less energy--JBellis 19:05, 25 August 2005 (UTC)

I agree it shouldn't link here. There is LOADS that could be said about reuse so it should have its own seperate article. Otherwise this article will become huge. It would be ok to mention reuse on here and give a short description but reuse should not redirect hereSupposed 04:58, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cost of recycling

The following statement was not be entirely NPOV:

State support for recycling can be more expensive than alternatives such as landfill; recycling efforts in New York City in the USA cost $57 million per year.1

While it may be true that recycling plants are more expensive to operate then landfills it the statement ignores the possible costs of not recycling due enviromental issues with landfills. I have changed it to try and be more NPOV. --Cab88 15:47, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Not NPOV issues

This whole article is so not NPOV. It talks about the great wonders of recyclying and how good it is for the environment which is most certainly not true if you do the math. There was never a landfill crisis, recycling doesn't save trees and all it really does is cost us more money and resources. Recycling is bad for the environment. Using less is good. Is anything in the article proven to be true? How about some facts that recycling uses more resources thens its meant to fix. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.229.234.135 (talk • contribs).

I agree that there should be some discussion of criticism of recycling, as it's a widely held view. But the recent addition is quite POV. A good section on criticism should have in-line citations (because it's a controversial topic), and should have neutral wording (see WP:NPOV). I'm not going to revert it right now, in the hopes that someone who knows these arguments well (or the original poster) can work this section into something more useful. --Allen 00:01, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
I think it should be shortened and not in form of essay. Pavel Vozenilek 00:06, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
I've reverted the changes - they are available in the history here. As the folks above noted, it was written in essay form, failed to cite sources, was short on specifics, and stated a lot of very generalizations and opinions as fact. CDC (talk) 04:58, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
Isn't the point of wiki for people to fix up the content, not to remove it if they don't agree with it or the way it is presented? The rest of the recycling article is written in similar essay form and most of it fails to cite sources, how was this different? I'm adding it back in, in the hopes that someone will do the right thing and present it better, rather then be lazy and just remove it. --195.157.84.178 15:44, 9 March 2006 (UTC)
It's true that there are problems with the rest of the article, but fighting POV essay with more POV essay is not the solution. I'm going to try to remove some of the unsourced, POV material from the article. I'm removing controversial claims that are not attributed to sources. I'm also removing the paragraph attributed to "skeptics", because it makes some detailed arguments that I suspect come from a few particlar recycling opponents and don't represent a consensus view. I'm removing a lot of material here, but for a topic like this, which is controversial both in real life and on Wikipedia, I think it's especially important that claims be attributed to verifiable sources.
Also, I'm adding a "fact" tag to the thing about newspapers in India... I'm not removing it because, while unsourced, I don't know whether it's controversial. I'm leaving the first half of the "history" section alone because, while also unsourced, I expect it is not very controversial. I'm rewording the part about the Mobro 4000 so that opinions are more accurately attributed. --Allen 06:21, 13 March 2006 (UTC)
I started the opposing viewpoint. It at least deserves a mention. I don't know the facts either. The NYT article is rather persuasive. We do things all the time without thinking about it. Whether recycling is the right thing to do or not, my guess is that most people that recycle couldn't quote a single statistic on recycling. I think the landfill argument is sound (do the math yourself and multiply by 100 for error). I would love to find a source of the amount of energy of recycling v.s. not recycling for various materials. If I find one, I'll make sure to put it up. --jabin1979 01:53 21 May 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Energy benefits from recycling

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.
This article has been tagged since January 2007.

Has anyone got any figures as to the energy benefits of recycling. I've read somewhere that recycling aluminium uses 20 times less electricity that extracting it from bauxite, whereas the benefit of recycling glass is much less. Can anyone produce a table for plastics, metals, paper, card, etc? 85.210.8.21 21:34, 12 March 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Added a "recycling methods" section

I have added a section titled "Recycling Methods" which is presently a list of links to articles which detail the main processes used to recycle commonly recycled materials. I know that most of these articles are available under the "See Also" section, but the processes used to recycle materials are surely of central importance to an article on recycling and are not just a 'related topic' which is what "See Also" links generally refer to on Wikipedia.

Preferably, I think the section should maybe provide some sort of short description on each material's recycling method rather than just linking to each relevant article, however I do not know enough about all the methods to write this. Unfortunatly, many of the pages currently contain little information about the actual method(s) used in the recycling of that material, but I still think they should be linked as they will surely improve over time and I will try add some information myself. Canderra 01:22, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

In the UK the mantra is Reduce Reuse Recycle. The "reuse" section is a good start but there should also be something to say that even though the general public are most aware of recycling in actual fact it's the lowest and least desirable form of waste reduction. I'd like to see something of this form in the intro. Waste reduction and excess packaging could probably be a whole article in it's self but should also have a section here. Are the 3R's a uniquely UK thing?
If we want pictures of reused items I can get some as we have horse shaped swing made from an old tyre and my Eco-School is growing carrots in old wellies at the moment. Sophia 09:42, 11 June 2006 (UTC)
I don't know if it's Canada-wide, but in Vancouver our motto is also Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: it's emphasised that we should be focusing on them in that order, reduction being the most important element and recycling the 'last ditch'. But I want to make the comment that I don't know if the 3Rs should have much place in this article; it is the recycling article, not the article on all elements of waste reduction. I think a) there is more than enough material just on recycling to make a FA, and b) it is a misuse of Wikipedia to turn this into a how-to manual on waste reduction. Let us define recycling , its history, its present and where it's going, and leave the education to external links, and the big picture to an article on the big picture. My CAN$.02.--Anchoress 17:17, 11 June 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Israel

Israel recycles a lot of materials because of their constant shortages of various things. I think we should include them. . Mkaycomputer 16:31, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

I work closely with Israel in the field of recycling and waste management technology and I spent 3 months working at Hiriya last month. I have to say unfortunately Israel is very bad at recycling and does not recycle anywhere near as much as it could. Israel is very good however at inventing new innovative technologies for waste treatment such as the ArrowBioProcess (Mechanical Biological Treatment). Unfortunately there are not the political drivers in Israel at present to make optimal use of the resourcese Israelis have. --Alex 09:24, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Is recycling worth it? /Environmental impact of recycling

Does anyone know, or could they find out about what it takes to process certain metals/glass/paper, etc., in order to recycle them compared to processing the raw resource? For example, processing aluminum generates toxic substances, like flouride, which must then be disposed of somehow. It would be especially interesting to also link this with the recycling vs. landfill part. (perhaps this might go as a criticism, or way to address criticisms?) - Doubleg 18:35, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

Well here is a start, or perhaps just a suggestion. Not sure if it is worthy to include..
Environmental benefits of recycling, comparison with natural extraction
Aluminium Recycling one kilogram of aluminium saves up to 8 kilograms of bauxite, four kilograms of chemical products and 14 kilowatt hours of electricity.

[1] [2]

 It takes 20 times more energy to make aluminum from bauxite ore than using recycled aluminum.[3]
Glass A 20% reduction in emissions from glass furnaces and up to 32% reduction in energy usage. [4] For every ton of recycled glass used, approx 315 kilos of Carbon dioxide and 1.2 ton of raw materials are spared. [5]
Paper A ton of paper from recycled material conserves about 7,000 gallons of water, 17-31 trees, 60 lb of air pollutants and 4,000 KWh of electricity.[6] Milling paper from recycled paper uses 20% less energy then it does to make paper from fresh lumber.[7]
  1. ^ International Aluminium Institute
  2. ^ Waste Watch
  3. ^ Ohio Department of Natural Resources
  4. ^ Waste Management Information
  5. ^ Waste Watch
  6. ^ U.S Department of Energy
  7. ^ U.S Department of Energy
Mceder 15:38, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
I think it's great and we need more stuff like it. Put it in!--Anchoress 22:04, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
Done. Will try to add some more quick facts on the other recyclable matters. Mceder 02:23, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Proposed mergers

I've put up proposals to merge both concrete and glass recycling into the Methods section of the article. Both of those pages are quite short yet don't need to be expanded much further, one of the critisms of this article is that it is too short and should be expanded. I think that once the other areas of the methods section are also expanded, they will each have approximately as much content as the concrete and glass pages. jwanders Talk 09:56, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

I disagree on both counts. This article has a lot of problems, but recycling is a huge topic and we can't cover everything here; it's great that certain types of recycling already have their own articles cuz they need them. I think it would be better to work on cleaning up the concrete article (which needs a lot of work) and expanding the glass article, which is a huge topic on its own without being merged.--Anchoress 10:07, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
I disagree was well. There is a lot more on recycling in general that should be included in this article- if we merged in the individual types of recycling it would be too long. Of course those individual articles need work and expansion as well! Petros471 10:14, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
While I appreciate the effort to get something done here, cause it is in dire needs of getting done, I disagree as well with merging. I think expanding is the better way to go. There are a ton of resources out there that just needs to be combed through for essential facts, link to sources and added to the glass and concrete article. This should beef them up well enough to deserve their own article. In regards to the article being short, I agree with an earlier comment that this page is very US & UK centric, and that it allows for great expansion. What are goverments legislating around the world in regards to recycling? What happens with aluminum cans in Botswana? Mceder 14:54, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
I can agree with the disagreements above. Thanks for the input! --jwandersTalk 17:07, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Summary table

I compiled the table below from the information sheets at [4], as I wondered if the article could benefit from something like this.

Material Energy savings CO2 savings % of household waste % recycled % secondary production
Aluminium 95% 95% 3% 42% 33%
Concrete
E-waste 4-88%1
Glass 315kg/tonne 7% 75%
Organic 38%
Paper 28-70% 95% 18%
Plastic 66% 40% 7% 7%
Textiles 3% 25%

1Depending on type of appliance.

Obviously there are problems:

  • It's incomplete (though I've only sourced one website).
  • It's currently only for the UK; I'm not sure how we generalise, as every country will be significantly different and we can't include them all.
  • Some materials are also difficult to generalise. The different types of E-waste, for example, would all have different statistics.

Overall, though, I think this type of data should be in the article, and some sort of table is probably the best way to present it. Thoughts? --jwandersTalk 13:57, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

I think it is great information, go ahead and put it in the article (my humble POV opinion). The problems you list are very real, but not great - we have to have a starting point that we can build upon. The major challenge is to put aside POV (I tend to be a fan of recycling and should really not add to the article because of it :) ) and find the deep dark sides of recycling as well. Mceder 05:11, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Online sources

I sourced these links from a book at my local library, but haven't gotten around to checking them out yet; figured they'd do more good being posted here than sitting on a neglected note on my desk. Hopefully at least one or two will provide a global perspective; recycling coverage, like everything else in the UK, tends not to acknowledge that anything but the UK is worth mentioning.

Actual books on the subject seem to be a little thin on the ground. Except children's books; oddly there seem to be a ton of those. Don't think they'd make the best references, unfortunately... --jwandersTalk 22:02, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Recycling optical lenses / glasses

Perhaps something to add here, normally done by charities collecting old glasses and re-distributing to people who can't afford it or where it's not as available. Mceder 12:05, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

Technically that's re-using, not recycling.--Anchoress 12:39, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
  • Ergh. Of course you are right. Mceder 13:19, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Waste disposal incident in New York linked to recycling increase

I have removed the following section from the recycling article. It really isn't relevant to the key article but would perhaps be useful in its own article.--Alex 10:12, 16 August 2006 (UTC)


In 1987, a barge called the Mobro 4000, containing over 3,000 tons of waste departed from Islip, New York to deposit its load in Morehead City, North Carolina. Before it reached its destination, rumors that it contained medical waste caused officials at Morehead City to deny the barge permission to unload its cargo. As a result, the barge traveled down the East Coast of the United States searching for a place to unload, eventually being denied entry into Mexico and Belize. The barge finally returned to Islip, where the waste was incinerated after a brief legal battle. The barge's journey became a small media event. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston [8], Kelly Ferguson (editor of a pulp and paper industry newsletter) [9] and conservative columnist John Tierney [10] , media coverage of the Mobro 4000 led to the false public perception that American landfills were nearly out of space. They say that this perception led to increased public interest in programs to recycle household goods. [citation needed]

[edit] Expansion, Expert tags

I am personally passionate about recycling, but this topic as a WP project really overwhelms me. We've made a good start to the article, and IMO it could be great, not only a FA but also a great intro to the waste management portal, but I think we need a few more experienced, maybe expert editors to help the shepherding process. I'm not tagging to make the article look bad, but to add it to the lists of articles that would benefit from attention so hopefully we'll get some input from more editors. Anchoress 03:16, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Steel

Added a section on steel, as it seemed (oddly to me as the worlds most recycled material) not to get a mention at all. --Andy 22/8

[edit] New section: Electronics disassembly and reclamation

I added a new section, Electronics disassembly and reclamation. I added the [citation needed] tag myself because I know it's unprofitable, but I just can't find a source for the info. I also don't know how to do the proper citations, so if someone could help with that I'd appreciate it. If anyone has any better/other sources for the info, that would be great too. Anchoress 05:57, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Hi Anchoress nice addition. I have helped you out with the referencing as you requested. --Alex 09:19, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Thanks Vortexrealm. I'm going to make some small edits to the section myself if you're done? Also, v/v cel/mobile? Since the new section is ahead of 'electronics', should I change 'cell' to 'mobile', wikilink it and delink the subsequent entry? Anchoress 09:27, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi Anchoress its all yours. I reworked the electronic waste article as there is possibility for confusion between the US and EU. Electronic waste is deemed to be WEEE in the UK/EU and it seems to be e-waste elsewhere. The electronic waste title seems to be more correct and discriptive and encyclopedic to me. I have no preference as to cell or mobile as I dont think there is a cross boarder neutral term for this.--Alex 09:56, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
OK, no probs. I asked about cell/mobile because in the electronics section there's an annotation stating that it should be kept as 'mobile' per some other article and I thought that since you've edited this article a lot it was your annotation. I don't care myself, just want to keep the convention of wikilinking only the first instance of each word or phrase to be wikilinked. I'll change it to mobile since that's what's already in the article. It doesn't matter to me either. Also, I really appreciate the help with the citations; maybe one of these days I'll learn how to do them myself. Per the style guide I changed the ones in the new section to have the punct before; I'll go through the whole article and fix it to that standard. Anchoress 10:01, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
To reference directly enter the wording to be referenced into the main body. Then use the <ref></ref>function around it. Ie: Reference text <ref>[http://www.example.com Example Title] Additional Information</ref>. Make sure that in the references section at the bottom you enter <references/> . This will automatically enter any references at the bottom of the page. Alex 10:09, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Yeah, I'd kinda figured that from looking at them but it's useful to see it spelled out. So if I interpret your example correctly, the url part is the same, with the text part being the display name for the url, and the text following it is a further descriptor? So, the example might be <ref>[http://www.seabuckthorn.com SBT International] Commercial seabuckthorn site. Accessed August 29, 2006</ref>? What if the ref has wikilink brackets? What purpose do those serve? Anchoress 10:44, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Hi Anchoress, basically anything you put between the reference brackets will be the reference. It will appear as normal wikipedia text at the bottom of the page. Wikibrackets will still function and link to wikipedia articles normally. If you are referencing from a scientific text book it often wont be available online. I use the Havard referencing system for scientific references, however I must confess I havent checked the MOS to see if this is strictly correct for wikipedia! Alex 10:57, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bins

One thing annoys me slightly about the whole recycling thing is represented by the pictures on this article. The common representation for recycling are bins in many colours. Segregation of recyclable elements into different bins is not in itself recycling and does not guarantee clean waste streams that are easier to reprocess. I think the more this article focuses on the processes of recycling and their environmental benefits the better.

A whole article could be written on the reasons for collection of segregated recyclables and the arguements against it --Alex 11:56, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

I never thought about that, but I agree. I also have a problem with the pictures - there are too many of them. I think that at least, one of the two german litter bins and one of the two england and wales bins should go. - Drstuey
I agree about the pics. Although I don't think the article needs fewer pics overall, I definitely think we could do with way fewer pics of bins. Alex, I don't know if I understand your comment above, although if you're indicating an over-emphasis on the binning etc, I agree. Anchoress 13:41, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
It's not necessarily a criticism of the article more the public perception of recycling. I believe wikipedia should aim to provide a true picture of the subject and dispell some of the broader issues. I agree the article should have as many pictures as possible but be a little more balanced. I think taking out some of the lower quality images once they can be replaced with others. Cheers.--Alex 14:41, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
OK yeah, I understand what you mean. There is so much about the big picture we haven't even touched on, the tiny patch between the kitchen and the blue box doesn't need too much coverage. I've added a couple of ideas to the big section at the top. It depends on the availability of info, and of course whether or not it is appropriate in the article. Anchoress 14:46, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

I've removed some of the pictures, added new ones from other sections and increased their size. I think a historical picture would be much better for the history section and the US picture is pretty poor related to recycling.--Alex 10:00, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

I note another picture has been posted on the article, which is good but again relates to the collection of recyclables and not the process of recycling!Alex 10:57, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] References

I added names and titles for all the references, and combined two duplicates, so there is only 1 ref and it has a and b links back up the page. There was a lot of unpredictable odd duplication of the refs happening - this was not shown on preview but it was happeniong once page was published - turns out after all that messing around that the real culprit was that the {{waste}} template had been blanked and that was what caused the refs to be stuffed up.

I also deleted the first ref, which went to the reduce reuse recycle website - I didn't think a ref was necessary at this point. I also deleted a ref to http://www.waste-management-information.org.uk/ this is not a good source - this appears to be search engine link spamming site, cheers - Drstuey 13:09, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

I moved the {{waste}} template to {{waste management}} as part of my overall work on categorising and improving the waste section. There was some problem distinguishing what was related to waste and what was waste management. Someone later removed my redirect. My end thought was that the overarching topic is waste management. Waste should relate to different waste types. I haven't yet completed this but I intend to transfer articles in Category:Waste types into Category:Waste. Comments are welcome on my work in this category as it was largely neglected till I started. Cheers Alex 14:48, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The International Tidy Man

Do not litter!
Do not litter!

How is the picture of the The International Tidy Man related to recycling? He does not seem to be recycling, ie. sorting his waste. The picture just shows he is not littering. -- Petri Krohn 08:45, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree, I think it shlould be removed. - Drstuey 09:30, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
No problems with me --Alex 09:52, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
Yeah, go ahead. Anchoress 09:57, 30 August 2006 (UTC)


[edit] "Needs Expert Attention" Tag

Can anyone explain why the "Needs Expert Attention" tag has appeared at the top of this article. I do not think the article appears to be in particular need of an expert in the matter. The vast majority of information present is properly sourced and presented in a factual, encyclopedic way. Furthermore, the tag implies it has been intiated due to discussion on this talk page, yet I can find no such discussion. Canderra 13:57, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

I added the tag, and I explained it about four sections up. Anchoress 15:40, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
that would be : Talk:Recycling#Expansion.2C_Expert_tags - I agree that the article could do with some experts, but this is true of nearly all articles on wikipedia. I feel that adding such templates to the page just makes the article look bad. - Drstuey 01:46, 12 September 2006 (UTC)
I don't think so, but we're not here to make articles look good, we're here to make them good. The thing is, this article really needs work. A few months ago it was identified as a project to bring it to FA status; I don't even think it would make GA status as it is right now. And no-one who is active on the article right now has either the skills, the time or the will to do what's needed. I'm not meaning to insult anybody or make waves, and I include myself in the description. But just because lots of articles on WP need improvement and don't have expert tags isn't a reason to take this one off. Also, sometimes people check the expert needed categories and that's how they find articles that need work. I'm also not disparaging the huge steps the article's taken since the flag (was it in June?). Several dedicated editors have improved this article greatly. Now it needs expert attention to take it the final steps. I don't think there's anything to be ashamed of in saying so. Anchoress 02:02, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

Just because an article could do with more contribution does not qualify for an "In need of an expert" tag. That tag is for use when specific points need clarity etc. Although improvement would be great, as with any article, the article is already 25kB in size and not in obvious desperate need of attention. If a specific point which needs expert attention cannot be found than I'm afraid the tag should be removed. Canderra 23:17, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

Clarity or expansion. The fact that it's 25kb doesn't reflect on whether or not it needs expert attention. The article is not well-referenced, there are a heap of 'citation needed' tags. The article needs serious expansion in the areas of:
  • History
    Recycling in the rest of the world (outside the US and UK)
    The impact of recycling
And (better) summaries of some of the related subjects such as:
  • Waste legislation
    Kerbside collection
And also, note that Drstuey above agreed that the article needs experts. However, having said that, I have a policy of not reverting when people good faith change stuff I've done, so you won't get a fight from me if you remove the tag. I think it's a mistake (unless you are willing to do the work needed yourself), but if for whatever reason it is so important to you that you feel you need to revert the addition of a good faith editor who feels strongly that it's needed, you'll get no argument from me. Anchoress 23:36, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
Unles someone feels strongly against it, I am going to remove the "expert required" tag. It have been up there for several months now and seems to be on the verge of becmoing a permanent feature of the article. As it stands, the article - while not perfect (if this is even possible) - is surely above the standard of the average wikipedia article. What it needs now to fix the above stated problems is simply general contribution (which will come over time) rather than an a specific expert. Canderra 13:48, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
I do object, but I'm pretty tired of defending my choice. I disagree with your reasons for removal, but I've come up against editors with your feelings before and I'm not up for the fight for my side. Anchoress 18:39, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
I understand your feelings and I am not trying to be provocative in my removal of it. I just think that it can't stay up there forever, particularly when the article definatly isn't terrible. Maybe there is another tag which could be used to request more general contribution as it doesn't appear an "expert" is planning on stopping by. I guess it is probably too early to request another contribution drive? Canderra 19:12, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bffling Vndlism

I can't believe someone actually removed all the a's from the entire article! Based on the fact that a couple were missed, it appears to have been done manually. Some people have way, way too much time on their hands. Canderra 20:35, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] New article on criticism

A new article Recycling criticism has just been created. I'd like people involved here to take a look: I'm not sure there's a point in having a separate page as it will turn into a POV fork. The article has decent citations but on the other hand I'm concerned about due weight here. Pascal.Tesson 02:32, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

There are quite a lot of these blatent POV articles popping up on Wikipedia. I guess some politically minded editors see them as a loophole through which they can insert their POV into Wikipedia; something along the lines of "if I can't put my POV into an article, I'll create an article which is inherently POV and then justify biased comments as being necessary to the article's subject matter".
I'm pretty sure that over time the Wikipedia founders will deem baiscally all the "Criticism of X" articles (and their "support for X" counter-parts) as simply POV (which is fundamentally what they are) and they will eventually be removed as unencyclopedic. Canderra 09:11, 19 October 2006 (UTC)
I disagree. I think the contribution of everyone is needed in all areas of Wikipedia, especially those with strong POVs. In order to achieve neutrality, an article will need help from everyone on the subject so the article can accurately project the views of all areas. If an article is only contributed to by a small group of people that have relatively similar views on the subject (even with debate), such as... environmentalists, you enter into systemic bias and exactly that has actually been a big criticism of Wikipedia. If you ask me, some of you are being pretty hypocritical in rejecting specific POVs as bad, namely those which aren't your own. --Joshua4 05:27, 5 November 2006 (UTC)
But in my experience, having two POV contributions - one from each side of an argument - doen't improve an article, it just make the article both contradictory and biased. Much better to have all contribution from people who are aiming to write quality material than push an agenda. Eventually all significant points will be covered, but they are much more likely to be presented in a fair manner.
I must say I find it slightly ironic that you warn that this pretty NPOV article could suffer from systemic bias in a talk section about an offspring article which will always almost certainly suffer from systemic bias. The very name of the article states a political viewpoint. Canderra 21:24, 6 November 2006 (UTC)
Good point, the criticism should be contained in THIS article and not be forced to a different article which makes it seem like an extremist view. This article should elaborate on the benefits and drawbacks of recycling. It seems to already mention many benefit, though, but not so many of the drawbacks. jhhays 13:35, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
Question: Is the "criticism" article mature enough to now be incorporated into this article? Student7 20:17, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Article restructuring

This article is becoming a bit unweildy. I suggest details on recycling programmes in different countries such as "recycling in the US" and "recycling in Canada" should be made new articles in their own right.--Alex 08:14, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

I agree. I also think the listcruft structure of some of those sections are unencyclopedic (although a good start). Anchoress 08:22, 27 October 2006 (UTC)
Yes, they will act as a good skeleton of an article.--Alex 08:41, 27 October 2006 (UTC) I suggest a new section "recycling by region" with the paragraphs on the US and Canada moved out into new articles. Both these sections aren't fully up to scratch yet and I think it would enable people to concentrated on expanding them properly.

[edit] Has this article ever been peer reviewed?

As per the above question, I would like to see editors concentrate on this article that needs polishing off. If its not been peer reviewed maybe its time, this would attract other editors to helping sort this one out.--Alex 08:46, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Penn and Teller on recycling

Not exactly a cite-worthy source, but interesting nonetheless: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7734998370503499886&hl=en-CA Timbatron 01:20, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] odd (meaningless?) word under "history"

I am not familiar with the word "shiza," and apparently neither are any dictionaries I've consulted. It's under the History section:

One effect of this ban was to raise the shiza of management —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.178.51.249 (talk) 04:58, 27 December 2006 (UTC).

[edit] Printer ink cartridges & toners

I think this is actually more accurately reuse which is separate to recycling. What are your views?--Alex 16:07, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] history related to landfills

What significance is there to the fear of running out of landfill space, stemming from the "Adgenda for action" paper from the EPA? Was that a cause of the recycling movement? Should it be included in the history section? Fresheneesz 21:12, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Spelling

I think the use of American English is better for the article. As such, words like fibre, coulor, and centre should be: Fiber, color, and center.

Discuss... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.92.220.10 (talk) 02:56, 5 February 2007 (UTC).

whichever, just keep it consistent. Fresheneesz 21:04, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Random comments

--75.35.120.155 02:25, 9 February 2007 (UTC)[[ == well my thoughts are that recycling is the most valubal thing that this earth has right now because sooner or later we will run out of fosil fuels and then what are we going to do about it?? well recycling will help our economy so much by just cleaning and helping to unpolute the air this to me is the most wonderful thing ever to happen or to be discovered so REDUCE, REUSE, AND RECYCLE!!!!!!!!!!! posted by samantha rogers age 14 harlingen texas ==]]

I'm not sure what this was doing between the templates at the top of the page, but I didn't like it there, so...--Hjal 18:09, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unintended Humor

Some wag wrote that the page needs "cleanup" - maybe we should recycle it, too. Carrionluggage 02:32, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Drawbacks Section needs work

I think the ideas here belong under Criticisms, and need to be sharper and sourced. I'm new to this, but I think we should stay away from short, sweeping statements that try to draw a bottom line before a topic has been unfolded. (an example from Drawbacks (as of 3/4/07): "Another negative aspect of publicly funded recycling is that it causes a net increase in the amount of resources used." This treats all resources as equivalent, and asserts its point categorically, not in relation to the circumstances of different kinds of program.) Recycling attracts uncritical support and opposition, both. This article shouldn't content itself with that, but should sketch the issues more than Drawbacks or Criticisms now does. I suppose, though, it's just waiting for someone to stop commenting and start writing. Greener72 08:10, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Removed from main page

I think this might be worth keeping and not deleting completely.Alex 15:39, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

Another negative aspect of publicly funded recycling is that it causes a net increase in the amount of resources used. For example, while recycling paper results in a reduction of the total number of trees consumed per unit of paper, it increases the amount of labor and energy required per unit of paper. If recycling programs were not subsidized by the government, paper mills would have a larger overhead to acquire the materials needed to create the end product. The notable exception to this drawback is aluminium recycling because the cost of creating aluminium from ore is significant enough that recycling aluminum results in a net savings. Note that this aspect uses an economic analysis of the problem. The different processes involved in initial creation and recycling have different impacts on the environment and are not included in this analysis.

It needs to be sourced. Then it can stay. --Eyrian 17:43, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Updated International codes list: help needed

I just updated the international codes list. This was drawn from both http://www.recycling.com/ and various pamphlets I receive at the airports in different countries. If anyone has, or knows where to get a full listing, please pass it on to me so I can finish this completely. --Lostinlodos 11:59, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

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