|
It depends on the materials and where you live. Some plastics are baled up and shipped off to China for burning. Some are indeed recycled; it depends on whether there are people a) willing to buy plastic near you, and b) whether there are the facilities in place to recycle it. However, the material isn't as valuable as you think it is; many solid waste companies don't make any money off of recycling plastic. We have a local recycler here that had to stop taking plastic for a while a year or so ago because they were losing money on recycling plastic; they also charge to take any polystyrene.
Aluminum is a material where it's easier to make new cans out of old ones, so there is some value to it. Glass, however, is different: clear glass is more easily made from new material than recycled material. Colored glass can be made from recycled bottles.
All in all, it's highly unlikely that your muncipality/state is making any kind of money off of this. It's more than likely that any money that is made off of one material (like aluminum) is used to offset the loss created by recycling another material (like plastic). I understand your frustration from being told what to do. One thing I appreciate about where we live is that that is not an issue--most Oregonians recycle willingly.
For this information, I grilled my husband--he's a chemical engineer with a focus in environmental engineering, and has taken many classes on sustainability of all kinds.
__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
|