Recycling myth

I am sure most of you hippies are active recyclers, maybe even go shop at co-ops, and are able to buy in bulk, saving plastic baggs and packaging.

There is one good news and one bad news about this.
the bad news first:
Recycling paper, seperating cans, and plastic might be an utter waste of your time, and might actually pollute more than it helps the environement. On top of it, this pollution cost you and your community, the tax payers, some extra money. Now it does create jobs, but is sorting through shit really the types of jobs we want to create?
Why would recycling be so bad?
Well, for exemple paper. To recycle it, recycling plants use chlorine to get the ink out, a chemical extremely harmfull to the environement.
Also, think about how much gaz was used to get those trucks from each of your houses and apartement complexes to the recycling plants.
You seperate things in your kcthen, yet, it all goes back into one big rotting pile when it gets to the factories!

Now, the good news:
Buying from bulk at your local co-op IS the best you can do for the environement. It saves on packaging, and it saves people from having crappy jobs designing cereal boxes after toothbrush adds and whatnot.

For more details and information about aspects of recycling which you might be surprised by, check out the excellent Penn & Teller show: Bullshit!.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7734998370503499886&q=penn+and+teller

In the end, the best for the environment is a mindfull consumer, and a non wastefull one. so, think about it twice next time you buy candies that are each individually wrapped, next step is wrapping the air and selling it by the ballon, with a nice clean logo on it that says "save the earth, buy fresh air"

What about you? do you recycle, and would you be ready to stop if you realize it is just a nice and conforting fashionnable trend? What facts do you know about recycling business that might help make up our minds?
What trick do you know that saves resources? such as the sticker on your door that says "no advertisers or i'll shut you"?

http://www.pennandteller.com/

Article in french / en francais.