Penn and Teller B*shit on Recycling.

[Sgable84]

If anyone is familiar of Penn and Teller and their show Bullshit, then here is a question for you. If you arn't familiar with them, here is a link to the particular show I'm talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzLebC0mjCQ *this episode is broken up into 3 sections

My Question: I am an avid recycler, and I try my hardest to recycle what I can, whenever I can. Now, I came across this episode one day and thought about. Penn and Teller say that recycling is Bullshit, and its pointless. Is recycling useless? Does it cause more harm than good?

What do you think?

[Clueless Git]

I suspect that most recycling is BS and pointless, yes.

I also think that it is the right thing to do and therefore that we should do it anyway.

[snivelingchild]

That show is bullshit. It is not to point out inaccuracies, it is shock factor for ratings and,nothing more.

They are correct on some fronts. Recycling plastic containers into other plastic containers is pointless, but so is using plastic at all, from an environmentalists perspective. Plastic upcycled into benches or bricks is smart. recycling paper is only somewhat pointless. Turning it into white printer paper is dumb. Turning it into corrugated cardboard, is smart. Avoiding putting chlorine or chemical inks into any paper productis smart, and so is composting it.

They mentioned (very briefly) that recycling metal is a good thing, but failed to mention glass. They also failed to focus on reducing packaging use, and gave the opinion that no one should ever try to recycle, ever, because it is not perfect. (obviously, it can't ever be improved either, right?)

Long story short, (too late) don't buy plastic whenever possible. Recycle metal, glass, and paper, but didn't support recycled paper products that are highly refined and bleached (or even virgin paper for that matter).

And don't forget reduce and reuse.

[Sgable84]

That show is bullshit. It is not to point out inaccuracies, it is shock factor for ratings and,nothing more.

They are correct on some fronts. Recycling plastic containers into other plastic containers is pointless, but so is using plastic at all, from an environmentalists perspective. Plastic upcycled into benches or bricks is smart. recycling paper is only somewhat pointless. Turning it into white printer paper is dumb. Turning it into corrugated cardboard, is smart. Avoiding putting chlorine or chemical inks into any paper productis smart, and so is composting it.

They mentioned (very briefly) that recycling metal is a good thing, but failed to mention glass. They also failed to focus on reducing packaging use, and gave the opinion that no one should ever try to recycle, ever, because it is not perfect. (obviously, it can't ever be improved either, right?)

Long story short, (too late) don't buy plastic whenever possible. Recycle metal, glass, and paper, but didn't support recycled paper products that are highly refined and bleached (or even virgin paper for that matter).

And don't forget reduce and reuse.

;)