Want not, waste not — and that’s the problem

We’re not only consuming less in this recession, we’re throwing out less.

And this is a bad thing. It seems that the garbage business is being hurt by the lack of, well, garbage.  Less garbage means a lot less money in tipping fees, what trucks pay to deposit loads at landfills. This not only hurts garbage companies like the giant Waste Management or their much smaller competition. Municipalities that operate their own landfills are seeing a serious shortage in fees, which affects local budgets. Some cities are having to raise garbage pickup rates.

Recycling firms are also seeing a drop in sales. Recyclers don’t keep waste out of the landfill out of the goodness of their hearts or affection for the environment; they sell plastic, metal, and electronic parts. But prices are down for recyclable materials as well, in some cases way down. Listen to this story from NPR about our ports that are overflowing with recyclable goods that no longer have a market.

So while you would think that less waste is good — it means landfills have longer lifespans, for one thing — it’s really bad, because the entire infrastructure that is based on our throwing things out is now vulnerable. Less waste is better for the environment, but recyclers can’t stay in business. GIGO — good, NoGO — bad.

We have all been told that the best way out of this recession is to spend, spend, spend. But as I said in my previous post this week, we lost 70,000 jobs just on Monday. It’s hard to tell someone who got pinkslipped from Caterpillar to go out and buy a new couch or something.

So I have a better idea. Clear out the closets or the basement, rip up the old carpet, really get in there and dig out the garage. This is our chance to change the economy from consumer-driven to garbage-fueled. If we can’t be consumers, let’s be wasters!

Together, we can make a difference. Together we can keep the garbage flowing.