You take out Lecykirabers!

I’m a recycling nut. I used to save all my cans and paper when I lived in Baltimore city so that when I went to my house (about once a month) I could take them with me to recycle out there. I guess I figure it will look good when I get to heaven.

Saint Peter – Well, you haven’t really led that righteous of a life.
Me – I did work harder than 95% of the population to recycle.
Host of Angels – It’s true…Good work, son…Let him in!!!

I’ve always wanted to know how to improve recycle (number of people and amount). I don’t have many ideas but here are my observations from the three states I’ve lived in:

Maryland (Baltimore county) – Voluntary curb-side recycling.
Pros – Convenience. Being the suburbs, recyclable can be left in cans and just brought street side the day they need to go out. There’s no reason not to.
Cons – There’s no reason to recycle. I imagine a large amount is just thrown away out of laziness. Plus, products can’t be left in trash cans. That means you have to have enough paper boxes and bags to hold all your paper you’re recycling which is discouraging for some.

Michigan - $.10 Deposit on every can/bottle which can be brought back to the store for a refund.
Pros – There’s a real reward here because there’s money at stake. Kids can be encouraged to recycle by the promise of the 10 cents they’ll receive for every can; fundraisers can be made of this; homeless people will work to get those that were missed by others.
Cons – No accountability. At least with curbside you have the shun of neighbors if you don’t recycle. Here, if you don’t care about the 10 cents, toss away. And every time you buy cans you have the negative aspect of paying extra. Plus, no paper recycling (that I knew of).

New York – Maditory curb-side recycling.
Pros – Well, you have to recycle. If you don’t you get a fine. Plus it’s curbside so it’s easy.
Cons – Negative reinforcement. You’re making people recycle not out of the reward of doing the right thing, but to avoid punishment. This doesn’t encourage you to recycle everything, just as much as you need in order to avoid getting a fine.

Which is best? I’m not sure. I want to say New York because they probably get the best results but I still don’t like the fines. At least we can all agree it’s probably not Michigan, but when has Michigan ever been the best at anything (besides unemployment).