I agree with most of what Doug Romm has to say, but ...

True, recycling and going lead-free are two separate issues.

And, I have no data to contradict what Doug says about landfill space in Europe,
the Far East and Japan. Although one has to question WHY they are running out of
landfill space. I can understand why Japan would, lots of people living on a
relatively small land mass. But is that the case in Europe and the Far East as a
matter of necessity or is it a matter of choice?  There is a difference in not
being able to build new landfills and not wanting to build new landfills. Even if
that is the case in Europe and the Far East, it is certainly not the case in the US
(with the possible exception of the tiny State of Rhode Island and the Providence
Plantations). So why should the US feel compelled to pursue recycling merely
because another country has to.

Also, like Doug, I hesitate to throw out the penultimate computer I purchased; it
sits in the closet in spite of my wife's urging me to get rid of it. I recall what
I paid for it (five years ago, at least) and cringe at the idea of throwing it out
(or recycling it), besides it still works.

However, too often when we talk about recycling we look at only one side of the
economic and environmental ledger.  Let's ignore, for the moment the economic
aspects. There is still an environmental cost to recycling. If a PC is sent to the
dump, that is the end of it. One trip. If it is recycled there is more than that
one trip. It has to go to a facility, that takes up land, that must be heated in
winter and cooled in summer and lit year-round. Energy and material resources have
to be consumed to build, operate and maintain that plant and its capital equipment.
Energy is consumed in the recycling process. For some materials chemicals are
employed in the recycling process. None of this is "free" from an environmental
standpoint.

For some materials, in some locales, recycling makes sense, for others it does not.
When analyzing the issues both sides of the ledger sheet have to be considered.
Recycling per se is not the Holy Grail.


Chuck Dolci

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