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other than being post-scarcity, I'd say recycling is literally almost this. it's not actually all that valuable as an activity and functions more as penance for
by Torgo 10y ago
other than being post-scarcity, I'd say recycling is literally almost this. it's not actually all that valuable as an activity and functions more as penance for the sin of consumerism.
- tempestn 10y agoDo you have references for that? There are many challenges involved in recycling, and it's certainly far more valuable to reduce consumption and increase re-use, but any review I've seen still shows recycling having a significant net environmental benefit.
- icelancer 10y agoOnly certain materials are truly valuable - they're the ones people pay to recycle. Metal-based recycling is incredibly valuable to the population and environment.
- akvadrako 10y agoAnd on top of that, it's valuable enough that you don't need to worry about it, because eventually someone will mine the trash for the metals they need.
- Torgo 10y agoNo that's basically exactly what I mean. If you really care about the environment you'll reduce consumption. If you sort of feel bad about the environment, you'll sort your trash but keep buying mountains of throwaway products that can be nominally reclaimed. It's still a massive waste of time, effort and material even if somebody can reclaim the material for other worthless products like direct-mail flyers or whatever later. There is no path to sustainability that does not entail consuming less.