What Prevents Recycling?

[@JakeJarvi]

"Right as you said 'superstition' too." Outstanding.

[@HellraizerKaizerin]

In Norway in the 90's we had a morning show for kids (Kykelikokos) that focused on recycling, saving power, and raising awareness about environmental issues - in a fun and musical setting. Everything I know, I learned from them, and learing it this way (as a kid) gave me good habits. Norway is still pretty good at recycling, but there are many other small things I think we forget we can do to take care of the environment. (I like the idea of reduce/reuse/recycle!)

[@kerstin6216]

While driving a '91 Corolla may be a good example for re-use (my first car was a 18 year old Ford Escort handed down from Grandpa) its not really green and environmentally conscious in my opinion. In general the older the car the higher its gas use and pollution, its something to consider in this particular argument.

[@kght222]

that is exactly what i was thinking. that corolla has a best case highways use of 31mpg, and most of it is in the low 20s. cars are one of the few things that actually do automatically get recycled, he could either scrap it or sell it to someone else and move up to a newer car with better gas mileage.

[@Deladus]

I think the argument is more "it is better to keep it on the road than build a new one and junk the old". We have a lot of wasted material taking up space in landfills. However, it is better to get more environmentally conscious cars out on the road now so that in 20 years it is those cars we are reusing instead of a 2013 Gas Burner Deluxe with Extra Smog Power. That being said Green Energy still has a ways to go and the money is not always there. Cars like the Volt are impractical for longer drives and still drain a fair amount of energy. I prefer hybrids like the Prius because it reduces the overall use of gas without requiring you to charge it. The downside is the batteries are expensive and don't last as long as the traditional car batteries. From what I understand the batteries run you a few thousand dollars making it more difficult. We are getting there though, and more and more people are recognizing the benefits. We just need to continue improving and get past some of the stigma that still surrounds green cars and energy.

[@gabi_bird]

Wow, I just love the part where she mentions the importance of reducing our intake first and foremost. :) Great video, guys!

[@paulhartnett1704]

Very interesting, I did my dissertation about (broad summation) recyclable construction materials. The principle of reducing and starting at the begging of a cycle is the most important. Enjoying these series of videos!

[@BeastOfTraal]

20 years ago when Baton Rouge first started a municipal recycling program the had separate bins for paper,metal and plastic. But that made it easier for people to go out on recycle day and pull out the aluminum cans. And the aluminum is what payed for the recycle program. Now we just have one bin for recyclables

[@martinzhang5676]

Wonderful work, guys at the Good Stuff. Thank you.

[@fieldsofdandelions]

I am in love with this playlist.

[@kadashlyoko]

I learn so much from the Good Stuff! I hope you guys find a way to keep on going!

[@Destructionsan]

The fact that I live in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest and the nearest garbage pickup that takes recycling is 45 miles from me in any one direction. I'm afraid I can't afford to drive 90 miles every week just to drop off a bin of soda bottles... so the best I can do is try my best to minimize usage of all the things. Except snack cakes. Look man. I need my fudge rounds. Got it? If paper-wrapped, box sized fudge rounds were a thing, I would buy nothing but those. Alternately, I'd settle for blueberry muffins. It would be a hard change and trying times, but I think I could adapt.

[@spatuli]

Where i live they put microchips in the "grey bin" (the one where you carelessly put anything in) so they can keep track on how many useless junk you don't sort, and make you pay some money for it. The paper bin, green bin and plastic have no costs. We found out that half of what we used to put in the grey bin was plastic, so that's pretty impressive. Google "kliko" to see what kind of bins i'm talking about. I've kinda made it into a game for myself to sort the junk. I like to put things in order so i really don't mind recycling.

[@Emmyhorstkamp-storeytarris]

Good Topic! I love upcycled furniture and household goods. Such good deals :-)

[@bnbcraft6666]

I once was playing volleyball with my friends and there was a recycle bin right next to a trash can and they threw water bottles in the trash and I dug them out and put them into the recycle bin

[@BobHutton]

A typical 91 Corolla, has a fuel consumption of around 31 us mpg (7.6 l/100km), while a modern one gets around 36 us mpg (6.6 l/100km). At what point is it environmentally better to go with the more economical vehicle? There is also the issue of safety. A modern Corolla has a safety rating of 5 (the maximum) while a 94 Corolla has a safety rating of 1 (using the Australian ANCAP/UCSR rating system). I can't find a safety rating for a 91 Corolla, but I can be confident it would not be good. So are we meant to risk our lives (and the lives of others on the road) for the sake of recycling/reusing?

[@almostbauws1845]

producing a new car has a massive impact on enviroment.

[@BobHutton]

+Almostbauws Granted, but there has to be a break-even point somewhere. (I can't imagine us all driving around in Model T Fords would be optimal for the environment and public health).

[@samanthacobb8309]

sounds stupid but i saw my cities, the city of lansing michigan, trash bags on here and got excited. we have a wonderful recycling program now. i just started using the city bags, in place of a dumpster because the new system allows me to recycle 4x as much as i throw away.

[@vivirecar]

Amazing as always. :)

[@thofus]

Great video, Craig. love the 3 x RE (-duce, -use, -cycle) :-D

[@wolfsatyr]

Yay, someone who agrees that reusing old cars is kind to the environment :D

[@DcTiger12]

Sweet Carolla!

[@mrboredj]

How long would you have to have something like a Volt/Tesla/Prius/Whatever instead of a inefficient '91 to make it environmentally "better"? I feel the need for a graph. I expect it's a very long time.

[@Im01Time]

When Interviewing Mike Nowak and at the first question (whats preventing humanity to "get it right") the first answer was "inertia". I immediately thought "Yeah.. inertia is a bitch.."

[@cubedude76]

hey I wanted to look up the music you used but I think the link to Jason shaw doesn't work. what song did you use from todd umhoefer? thanks for the video!

[@alcyonae]

This reminds me of the South Park episode Margaritaville. I was enjoying this video until the speakers advocated less consumption.

[@flamencoysol]

Excellent video! so inspiring! Thank you so much!!!!

[@ashheilborn]

I also have a white '91 Toyota Corolla... It has a hole in the engine. I really would like it to not have a hole in the engine... what can I do about that? I expect it needs replacing, but how?

[@JonathanEakin]

you could recycle the car!

[@ashheilborn]

Jonathan Eakin I could... where do I do that?

[@JonathanEakin]

www.kqed.org/support/cardonation/

[@JoeBetsill]

WheezyWaiter Why do you have so much hand soap in your kitchen?

[@annabellebarr6248]

Ah! You have a cat!

[@dev70194]

Cause we don't wanna recycle!!!!!!!

[@PogieJoe]

The guy in the thumbnail looks like ***** XD Great episode, Wheezy and crew.

[@mickeleh]

Not to Mickeleh. He doesn't.

[@PogieJoe]

If one squints and then wears sunglasses while viewing this from the opposite side of a concrete wall you'll see what I mean.

[@mickeleh]

PogieJoe Heading out to Home Depot now to get some cinder blocks and cement. I'll be in touch after I've built the wall.

[@PogieJoe]

Make sure your home isn't in Berlin. I heard there was a bit of stir last time that happened!

[@mil161]

Technology has made it so that newer cars tend to get better MPG and emission numbers than its predecessors. Runnung an old car is worst for the environment.

[@ViewtifulSam]

+Street48 I think neither solution (old car vs. new car) is obviously better, but I'd bet that, compared to right now, it would be better if more people would stick to their old cars for a bit more. Newer cars are usually more efficient (except when they're cheating tests...), but the production of a new car represents a huge impact overall. The fact that I personally won't or can't buy a new car does not prevent one new car from existing, but the rate of consumption of the market as a whole induces an impact which is probably not entirely compensated by better tech. So yes, running a new car (given that it already exists) is usually better for the environment, but overall how does that weigh against the impact of producing so many cars?

[@AbhijeetBorkar]

Are they only talking about USA or other countries in the world as well? Because many European countries recycle a lot! Even many third world countries are starting to recycle.

[@rfldss89]

i'd really like to know if it's true for europe too.

[@AbhijeetBorkar]

rfldss89 I am currently living in Germany, and people here are crazy about recycling. You can read more about it here [livingingermany.geekymoms.com/must-knows/recycling/]. Sweden, is running out of garbage to recycle and now imports garbage to recycle and generate power. [www.trueactivist.com/sweden-runs-out-of-garbage/] I also know that in India the government gives you tax benefits (such as 5% reduction on taxes) if you use renewable energy resources and if you compost your food waste near your house.

[@Deladus]

I think a lot of the specifics were about the US considering the experts and Craig are located in the US. In the video they mention that other countries are doing better and that the US doesn't put much time or money into the system. There are about 20 houses on my street and I think 4-5 (including mine) recycle. It is sad. I have got onto people at work who throw something in the garbage when there is a recycle bin 10 feet away and they say it is too much of a pain. One of the main issues I still have is figuring out what is recyclable in what area, but I do my best to recycle as much as possible with the exception of having a compost pile in my back yard.

[@rubzlovespancakes]

Meh, they separate waste... That's step one in recycling. But if there's no economic incentive to then actually do something with all this separated waste, it still all either goes to the landfill, or gets burned for energy... It's good that people get used to the idea though, so when technology advances to the point where that economic incentive is there, people don't have to get used to it anymore.

[@jjjtung]

This is probably the opposite, but Craig looks super bored of the guy talking HAHA

[@wheezywaiter]

I was actually very sick during that interview.

[@jjjtung]

WheezyWaiter Ahh that's right! You were sick, I forgot... Makes sense now