(04-15-2015, 09:37 AM)BuildingScout Wrote: Over 50% of the waste is commercial and little of it is recycled, particularly organics. That's where the big gains are.
Most of my workplaces have recycling bins. With the exception of 2, the cleaners dump the recycled items into the garbage. Is it worth it (all in, including collection emissions etc) to recycle glass, paper, organics, etc? Metal is, always. Plastics, sometimes. But the rest, no.
If one imposes mandatory recycling laws locally, I suspect that commercial businesses would choose not to do business in your locality. Look at the high cost of electricity and labour locally and see what is happening to the auto manufacturing business. Soon, Canada will be like Australia and not have any cars manufactured here. Unless you are a California (high purchasing power/population), mandating extra costs (or even capturing externalities) will result in an exodus of business.