I wish I had the clear conscience of those who say burning our trash is the best method of disposal. But when I read facts like recycling a ton of paper saves two barrels of oil, or that recycling creates six times as many jobs as landfilling, I can't help but wonder if trash burners are thinking of America's best economic interests.
Burning trash in a barrel, as in days of old, may make our hearts and hands warm and fuzzy. The reality is, it's harmful to everything from our forests to our national fossil fuel consumption levels. In these days of $100-a-barrel oil, recycling seems the patriotic thing to do.
Maybe trash burners learned nothing from their Depressio-era relatives, or those who lived through World War II; they knew better than to let a scrap of metal or rubber go to waste. They thought long-term instead of short-term.
We're not making trash haulers rich by recycling. We're creating jobs, reducing government inolvement in how we handle our garbage, and improving the air we breathe. Who can argue against that?
The trash burning mindset is an old-fashioned one, one that is cherry-picked by those who support the county incinerator despite the evidence and benefits of recycling, and ignore the wisdom of our elders. They taught us to never let a thing go to waste. My grandma still recycles all her plastic bags and Cool Whip containers to reuse. She's taught me a lot. Maybe she needs to teach others.
In this age of disposable everything, there's a lot we could learn.
-by Dave Lawrence, Recycling Jackson VP
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