Going Green? Recycle

Well it's been about 7 weeks since our last post--too long. But it's been a busy time for us. It has come to my attention that we never finished the discussion of "reduce, reuse, recycle." The recycle portion, that is.
So you want to be green? It's definitely the thing to do these days. But why now? Did it just now become cool not to be wasteful and irresponsible? I think not. My mom always told us "waste not, want not". We all have a personal stake in the planet and how we choose to live affects us as well as others. Utilizing our resources appropriately and being responsible stewards of our Earth only makes sense.
We have talked before about "Reduce" & "Reuse". Now the third component of "Recyle".
It's a shame, but face it, we are a disposable society. When did it become normal and acceptable for us as a society to go along with sub standard products? These products aren't made to last. They are made to be replaced. They are made to be thrown away. Really? Yeah, really. What the heck. We used to manufacture products that lasted. The production costs in terms of the environment were a one time cost. These products weren't filling our landfills because they were still in use. And, therefore, recycling wasn't much of an issue either.
Now, I know we've had to change due to advancements in technology and more improved production techniques but have these "advancements" been good for us? For the environment? Probably not in most cases. Look at just the plastics industry. More oil is used in the plastics industry than for fueling our vehicles. (I was surprised by this, too). Are those in the plastics industry being the responsible parties that they should? How about the ones in China? In other countries with extremely lax or non-existent rules regarding the environment? Not clear is it? We are certainly not going to stop using plastics. Think about all of the different things we use that are made of plastics. Start with your computer, your phone, a good portion of your vehicle. What are we to do about it? It's everywhere.
Recycling all that we can is really the only thing that any of us can do to help lessen the overall impact. Since planned obsolescence isn't going to go away and it doesn't seem as though the majority of us care about sub-standard products, then we need to keep as much of this stuff out of the landfills as possible. The issue of lax manufacturers here and abroad is not going to change, especially abroad. It's all money driven. If there wasn't a monetary incentive for companies here to send the work over there, it would end very soon. In effect, we are allowing, contributing to, and encouraging our own demise. Sub-standard products, planned obsolescence, incentives to ignore the environment and the willingness to accept it (because it's cheap) just don't make sense. Recycling can and does help undo some of the damage, though.
As it relates to remodeling, we, at Paulson's, have been recycling for years. Metals are almost always recycled, we throw out as little wood scrap as possible, and most of the working components that are removed are transferred to organizations such as The Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity so that they are "recycled". It only makes sense. There is a lot more that can be done when working on LARGE projects or for builders doing whole subdivisions. As remodelers, though, our projects are usually smaller and that scope doesn't always make sense like it does for some larger ones.
This is a complex topic that has many issues woven through it. This discussion is just one thread.
Your comments are welcome at www.paulsonsconstruction.com