Division of Labour: Oh, What a Tangled Web Morons Weave....

July 27, 2006

Oh, What a Tangled Web Morons Weave....

...when first they practice to recycle. (Apologies, not least because this line is so often misattributed)

Check this:

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario has introduced 35 Tetra Pak wines into 600 Ontario stores since last year, citing environmental friendliness as its rationale. But some environmentalists say the packages just add to the huge volumes of landfill in the province.

Wait...the LCBO has introduced new wines into stores? I thought entrepreneurs did that sort of thing.

But it gets better, yes it does. Consider this passage, later in the article:

There is currently no recycling facility in Ontario for Tetra Paks. The only paper mill that handles the province's Tetra Pak recycling is in Michigan.

...According to LCBO spokesperson Chris Layton, "It was the most successful wine launch ever, and consumers really embraced it."

...A Tetra Pak is made up of three materials — thin plastic outside (20 per cent), aluminum inside (5 per cent) and a fibrous middle layer (75 per cent).

Perks says no technology exists to economically separate the layers on a mass scale.

Not so, says Christina Seidel, executive director of the Recycling Council of Alberta. She says such technology does exist but only if it's supported by a market to make the recycling economically feasible.

In Alberta, unlike Ontario, the cost of recycling Tetra Pak products is built into the purchase price, she says. "You pay what it costs to have your container recycled."

And, because there's a deposit return system for Tetra Paks, about 60 per cent of such packaging sold is recycled, says Seidel. However, although there are future plans for it, wine is currently not sold in Tetra Paks in Alberta.

Some points:
1. If someone could make money recycling, there would be a plant for it in Alberta. But there is no recycling plant in Alberta.
2. The problem is not the lack of a market to support the recycling. The lack of a market means that the recycling process is wasteful, in terms of the yield, after accounting for energy use.
3. All Tetra Paks sold in Alberta have the recycling costs built into their price.
4. No Tetra Paks are sold in Alberta (though there are "future plans for it.")

Reading #1 through #4 above make me start a "Gumby Theatre" bit: "Brain hurts!" "Sorry!"

ATSRTWT

(Nod to RL, who needs to be careful, lest he get his butt whipped by the recyclozombies in Ontario. Their favorite joke: "That's not funny.")

Posted by Michael Munger at 09:01 AM in Economics