I heard a story today that made me ask, "Why not just cut down trees and throw them directly into the dumpster?!"
My darling wife-to-be called me this afternoon very frustrated and honestly, quite livid.
As she was walking into a FedEx Kinko's, which as we all know promotes itself as being green, two employees were walking out to the dumpster, holding three large paper-filled trash bags.
Curious, she asked them, "Are you recycling that paper?" They responded, "We always just throw it away. " Margaret immediately called me expressing her great displeasure at FedEx Kinko's.
This prompted me to remember a time when Kinko's (prior to being acquired by FedEx) was committed to, and used almost exclusively, recycled paper. By doing so, Kinko's created a market and stimulated economic viability for the recovery and successful recycling of paper that was placed in collection bins. What happened to that environmental stewardship once so prominent an aspect of the Kinko's name?
It may be that there is no viable market for collected, recyclable paper. I think it is imperative that we all remember, unless we consciously purchase and use paper made of post consumer recycled material, all that recycling is for naught. Successful recycling will only happen when there is economic demand for the "landfill-destined " materials.
So, if we're not willing to purchase and use paper made of post consumer recycled fibers (old paper), we might as well be just cutting down trees and throwing them right into the trash.