I'm getting obsessive with recycling

[harmonicon]

17. Just keep telling yourself that.

I remember very clearly doing some work lat at night in a university building when I was an undergrad (late 90's), and seeing the trash guy coming around. He took the lids off of the trash cans and dumped their contents into the bigger trash bag he was carrying. The he went to the recycling bin - same thing.

There's also the fact that so many people spoil recycling for others by putting non-recyclables into their recycling bins. I had a months-long war with some roommates about not putting oily pizza boxes in our recycling bin. They'd actually take them out of the trash, where I'd put them, and put them in the bin. I would then return them to the trash, etc. The thing is, depending on where someone catches something like that determines how much recycling gets thrown away. If our trash guy sees it, it's just our recycling that gets dumped, but if that crap goes into a bigger load and it's caught when it's a bigger load, then even more might have to get dumped.

Yes, there are many methods companies have for separating trash from recycling, but I wouldn't count on them always being available and/or employed.