Some closing thoughts for China: Water is a problem…switch to low-flow showers now and side step the learning curve and bias against low flow showers and appliances. We all have an impact on the environment. This does not mean we should stop everything, just that we should be more conscious of our choices and their consequences (good and bad).
For business to adopt recycling and reuse, it has to evaluate and determine the true cost of such programs. Some of our problem is that we’ve “thrown away” for so long that it has become habit, however the other is the economics of recycling. Business understands that recycling is important, but businesses must use capital efficiently. To recycle some goods it would be a better investment to hold the cash under a mattress rather than recycle the good. A good example of this was when one of the presenters at the Business Environmental Council talked about the costs of recycling. She had looked at the cost of recycling glass and wished to determine the market value for a recycled product. She could purchase sorted, crushed glass from mainland China and have it shipped to Hong Kong for less cost than to recycle the glass in Hong Kong. People should realize that recycling will firmly take hold when and where it makes money. If you want to save the planet, rather than fussing over it, start making the economics work for recycling. This means investigating alternative uses for “wastes” and investing in research and development for newer, more efficient technologies.
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