General: Recycling Quotes

It is impossible to reach a mandated recycling level unless you take all the people in New York City, put them in prison, and force them to recycle.…I think the law is absurd.

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Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R). From the New York Times, “Giuliani Attacks Recycling Goals as a Suit is Filed”.
07/03/1996 | Full Details | Law(s): General: Recycling

Recycling may be the most wasteful activity in modern America: a waste of time and money, a waste of human and natural resources.

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John Tierney. The New York Times Magazine.
06/30/1996 | Full Details | Law(s): General: Recycling

A 5 cent bottle deposit program typically spends $500 for every ton of cans and bottles collected, which makes curbside recycling look like a bargain. States without mandatory deposits...have proven that the most efficient way to reduce litter is to hire cleanup crews.

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John Tierney. The New York Times Magazine.
06/30/1996 | Full Details | Law(s): General: Recycling

Recycling has become the most primitive form of materialism: the worship of materials.

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John Tierney. The New York Times Magazine.
06/30/1996 | Full Details | Law(s): General: Recycling

Journalists...did a remarkable job of creating the garbage crisis...Mandatory recycling programs aren't good for posterity. They offer mainly short-term benefits to a few groups -- politicians, public relations consultants, environmental organizations, waste-handling corporations -- while diverting money from genuine social and environmental problems.

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John Tierney. The New York Times Magazine.
06/30/1996 | Full Details | Law(s): General: Recycling

Recycling itself can cause environmental harm...As a result, the environmental costs of recycling may exceed any possible environmental benefits.

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Lynn Scarlett, Reason Foundation and The National Center for Policy Analysis.
09/01/1991 | Full Details | Law(s): General: Recycling