What would it take to motivate the majority of americans to recycle?

Question

What would it take to motivate the majority of americans to recycle?

Answer 1

An absolute disaster - such as...

There are no more trees left to make paper

or

Something of that nature

Right now so many people do not care. They just carry on as if everything is OK.

Most people will not make a change until things are completely out-of-hand.

Answer 2

A fee or penalty if they didn't do it.  Maybe the waste management companies can charge more for those who do not do it regularly.

Answer 3

Make it financially attractive/punitive; some kind of rebate for a certain amount of recycling, or a fine for too much recyclables in the trash.  People understand money.

Answer 4

Technological advances which make recycling practical.

In most places recycling is nothing more than a way of shifting a greater percentage of the cost of trash disposal on the consumer.

My local community forces me to separate my trash then charges me a fee to recycle it.  My form of protest is to place the metals and plastics (the only things that are actually worth money) in cardboard boxes on the curb so the homeless can come by and collect them.  (The city made it illegal to take anything out of the recycle bins they make us use.)

Answer 5

Ask around.

Which country were successful in recycling.

Learn from them on how they do it.

"That's what friends are for"

So keep knocking.

What do you think?

Answer 6

For it to be worth the time energy and effort.

A lot of recycled products take more energy to become recycled then to just use new raw materials. there are exceptions of course like aluminum which most can producers recycle because its more viable cost wise.

Answer 7

A miracle from god...

Answer 8

Offer money for recycling.  Used to be, there was a place around here that took aluminum cans, then dispensed change for a certain number of pounds of cans.

When you work long hours for not much money, recycling takes a back seat.