by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
One economist said the economy is gasping for air, but has yet to collapse.
While the debate continues about whether or not the USA (and the UK) are in a recession many are already struggling and trying to find new ways to make a few extra bucks.
Many people say they are having a hard time paying bills and putting food on the table and some say they are recycling for the extra money which also helps the environment.
More and more people are recycling in a time when the economy is slow, which can be seen by the amount of people that visit recycling centers in the various cities and towns, small towns even, in the United States.
There everything can be sold back for recycling, even squashed up soda and beer cans, as long as they are made of aluminium, glass bottles, metal of all kinds, and much more.
“In this day in time with gas prices being so high, four dollars a gallon for gas and groceries being at an all time high milk eggs meat...you got to do what you got to do to survive,” remayked the manager of one recycling center.
He also stated that on average he gets seventy to a hundred customers a day and some days even more. People are bringing in household items like old Christmas tree stands and toasters to recycle for extra cash.
Someone from a different region reported that last month he took his six month inventory of cans over to the scrapping place and that he had to wait for 2 hours just to get in the door. He added that he could remember just a year ago driving in and being the only person there. Now, all one can say to that is that times are definitely changing, once again.
Recycling, in the USA, is good for the pocketbook as well as for the environment. Shame that we have not cottoned on to this as yet in Britain.
I am sure that no council would have to force people to recycle by various taxes and threats but that they would have queues of miles by people wanting to sell back to them the various recyclables and, like in the USA, I am sure that there would be many kids that would go out, trash bag in hand (and maybe even litter picker), and collect those soda and beer cans that maybe, just maybe, still end up in the litter or just thrown into road or the countryside.
In the USA is is often common for most customers to walk away from the recycling centers with more than one hundred dollars in their pocket.
I am sure it is time that other countries took a leaf out of that book and applied the same, Britain for starters.
© M Smith (Veshengro), June 2008
People Turn To Recycling For Extra Money
