White Lightning Axiom: Redux

And so begins the end of civilization:

In the next few weeks, about 6,000 city households will start earning $5 for every 10 pounds of recyclables they set out on the curb, up to $25 per month. They get the money in the form of coupons, good at more than 50 local and national stores and restaurants.

Sooo, not only is it unprofitable/wasteful to recycle anything BUT aluminum, now we will have the city pay you on top of the additional costs. It boggles my mind. I used to be a big recycling advocate until I found out what it costs. It galls me that the duo who explained this to me were no other than the raucous Penn and Teller. Now mind you, I still recycle what I can. Plastic, glass, metal, paper. Can you believe that our township will not pick up cardboard though? Into the fireplace it goes. The nice thing about this program is that the people who recycle anyways will be the ones being rewarded. This will not inspire those who do not recycle to get on board. It does make sense for Philly to do this though.

The main goal is to save the city money.

For every ton of trash that is recycled instead of being thrown away, Philadelphia avoids paying a $54-per-ton landfill-disposal fee.

Last year, the city spent about $40 million in landfill fees for about 750,000 tons of garbage. Residents recycled just 45,000 tons of trash - for a "diversion rate" of 6 percent.

If the city could double that rate to 12 percent - still modest by suburban standards - that would save more than $2.4 million.

Remember though, recycling is subsidized with your federal tax dollars. We are just shifting the cost a bit. This last quote is a red herring though:

Wilson predicted that the RecycleBank approach would work better than what some cities, including Philadelphia, have tried in the past: fining those who don't recycle.

"Most cities they go with the stick. This is a nice carrot," Wilson said. "Capitalism at its best."

You have got to be kidding me. Strange times. It would make more sense to have the recycling plant AT the land fill, but that is just crazy talk, eh?