Why are Americans so wasteful....have they any concept of recycling?

Question

do you Americans recycle or do your local athorities encourage recycling

Answer 1

Great question, Gary. And being an American who fervently recycles, I don't take offense to your question. Americans ARE wasteful. It doesn't hurt to look in the mirror once in a while folks, if it makes you a better person.

That being said, there are a lot of great Americans doing the best they can in their communities, by recycling what they can. But the rest of them......Shame!

Some cities have more recycling options due to large populations, like NYC. The more people, the more garbage, the more that can and should be recycled. In addition, they have all the recycling resources, like trucks and collection centers.

But some small cities or towns, particularly in New England or on the west coast, have been green for many years because they CHOSE to be. They wanted to keep the land pristine, regardless of a landfill situation.

So regardless of where you live in America, you can recycle SOMETHING. But why do many people refuse to? Apathy? Laziness? Lack of knowledge?

I witness this on a daily basis at my hotel. Our recycling company offers single-stream recycling, which means paper, glass, plastic, aluminum and metal can be placed in any of the MANY bins around the hotel, and it will all be sorted and recycled at a facility. But despite the 50 or so locations where one can recycle, some simply toss it in the garbage!  So it's not knowledge, it's apathy or laziness. And what goes on at our hotel is what happens in the rest of America, in little towns and big cities on a daily basis.

At home, do you think I LIKE throwing loads of papers and cans and bottles in my little Corolla in the middle of January to take to get recycled? No, I do it because it's the right thing to do. This is what I learned in the Boy Scouts, and  I've never stopped recycling since. Our mayor encourages us to recycle, and has provided many methods for us to recycle, but a lot of people choose not to. Sorry about those folks.

Thanks for your pointed question!

Answer 2

Some municipalities recycle, others do not.  I believe that most do, unless it is a very poor, small town that cannot financially support recycling facilities.

Where I live, each house has two dumpsters, one for trash and one for recycle.

Answer 3

totally agree...americans suck hahaha.

Answer 4

you just think of Americans as bunch of mindless world rulers, so dumb to not realize how stupid they are.... well, let me just say this, yeah? You are right. ;)

Answer 5

Actually, it matters on where you live. In my district, recycling is a must. In fact, you don't even need to sort them any more. they have technology to do that where i live (not all places)

but many other places do not have access to recycling facilities and it totally sucks!

personally, i jump at any chance i get to recycle. i mean, why cut down more and more poor trees when you can recycle?

Answer 6

Yawn...people answering this just jump on the anti-USA bandwagon like a bunch of sheep. There are 300 MILLION PEOPLE in this nation. We are inevitably going to produce more waste than little European countries. I live in a conservative town in Texas, and unfortunately recycling is not a priority for them. Most other states do a better job. I agree we need to be more eco-friendly..but America bashing is not exactly encouraging. Peace...

Answer 7

yes they do, just not a lot compared to the rest of the world

Answer 8

Please don't put people into little boxes. I'm as racist as the next man but at least on worthy and relevant causes!!! Get a life pal.