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I'm sure you could hire someone whose time is less valuable so they can do your part for you...

• pfdietz 8y ago
  And I'm sure that would also be grotesquely economically destructive. Let's do some simple math, shall we? One of the most recycleable commodities is aluminum. A soda can contains about 15 grams of metal. You can get maybe $0.40/lb for aluminum can metal. This comes to about $.013/can. If I were to value my time at $10/hour, then if I spend more than a few seconds recycling a can it isn't worth it. So, no, it's not worth it to hire anyone to recycle most stuff. Labor is far too expensive, compared to the value produced by recycling.
  • jobigoud 8y ago
    But it doesn't take a few seconds. When you are about to throw it you just throw it in a different bin. It doesn't take more time. Where i live (yes Europe) we have compostable, recyclable and general bins, so we have the same mini bins at home. And nobody was recycling 40 years ago so it's just a matter of habit/culture.
    • pfdietz 8y ago
      They don't require you to wash out your cans before recycling? That itself will take more than the couple of seconds per can. Yes, it's habit/culture. Lots of silly things are done just because it's the habit to do them. It doesn't mean they're good ideas.