Does recycling save, or cost you more money? I am an avid Conservative, and recycle almost everything under the sun, even as far as to re-use napkin%26#039;s more than once, if not messy enough. I USE EVERYTHING, re-wash over, and over freezer-baggies, flush the toilet only when necessary, use my cut grass as mulch, (other stuff that may seem gross to some) yadda yadda, but I am spending a lot more on trash bags for my cans, and bottles (even though I also use grocery baggies for trash), , more for soap, paper towels, sponges, just to keep my home clean. Often there are spills from recycling, and my hands get filthy separating the recycles from the non-recycles, therefore the extra cost.
Is it all worth it? I know I am not saving any money by doing this, because whatever I do save, and money I get from cans, and bottles, I pay it back plus 50 times for having to buy so much other stuff to also stay clean!

For example my last purchase of 50 trash bags was almost $10 with tax! They%26#039;re the cheap ones, too!

I am thinking this is some kind of Government trick to get Americans to spend more, like buying Electric Cars, so instead of paying $250 a month for gas, you end up spending $3000 a month for the electricity you use to charge up the battery for the car!

What do you think?

Additional Details

1 week ago

ptro-I do dry my hands with a dish-towel, but it cost money for soap to wash it! Many of them, get it?

1 week ago

Did I mention water bills, ptrobrn?

You can also get a windmill from pac wind to help with your energy needs.

http://www.pacwind.net/

in the end recycling doesn%26#039;t save you money persay. you can collect your alluminum cans and get cash for it but you have to have so much aluminum that its not worth it for a family of 4 to do it. it is about not stripping the planet of resources when we don%26#039;t need to. You are going to be charged by the city for recycling program even if you don%26#039;t use it so use it.

It all depends.

The %26quot;simple%26quot; things like re-using a grocery bag are a no-brainer. It doesn%26#039;t hurt you at all, it saves landfill space, and we end up using a bit less oil.
Re-use of grass as mulch is good too.
%26quot;Recycled%26quot; goods are a bit more confusing though.
Aluminum is very-cost efficient to recycle.
Paper is moderately cost-effective for recycling.
Plastic is very difficult to recycle, but with the increasing price of petroleum, it will be getting more cost-effective in the future.
Now somewhere in the *true* equation, you factor in the cost of having a polluted environment with huge landfills, but I can%26#039;t define what that is at all...
On the side note of electric cars, you are looking in the wrong place for the costs. The internal combustion engine in automobiles is very inefficient (maybe 10% at best), and oil is relatively expensive. Meanwhile, power plants generally have at least a 30% energy yield from their power source, while due to high voltage power lines, we can transfer it across the country at 99% efficiency. Even with an oil power plant, the electricity cost would be lower than gas costs. If you use coal or wind power, electricity is very cheap (and we have enough coal to last for at least 300 years, and enough wind to last billions). Electricity costs are effectively nothing compared to oil. HOWEVER: the price of designing, creating, and replacing the batteries themselves might end up increasing the costs...