Does residential recycling really work?
According to them: In 2005, the total MSW generated was 246 million tons. Of these 246 million tons 32% was recovered for recycling. 54% was disposed in landfills and 13% was combusted. They have tons of other information, but it’s difficult to draw any real conclusions. I’m of the same opinion as you, that it really doesn’t work because of inefficiencies inherent in the manner waste is collected. But, I also believe that current efforts are better than nothing. So it’s probably worth continuing, and hopefully we’ll develop newer AI systems which can sort materials better and make it more efficient in time. I hope this answers your question!! Sources: http://www.tufts.edu/tuftsrecycles/USstats.
