
i was sat next to john kerry, and a fairly empty flight from somewhere to somewhere. people were milling around, chatting, talking, interviewing, exchanging notes, but he and i were just sat there, laughing away like the best of friends. he was making joke after joke to me, and tears were welling in my eyes and i was slapping him on the back like we were old dear friends.
somehow, we started talking about recycling—specifically curbside/community recycling, and i turned to him, knowingly and rolled my eyes, saying oh we all know that’s a load of bollocks! he was shocked, horrified, and at first thought i was joking. he couldn’t believe his ears, and he wouldn’t even listen to me to explain. i tried to explain that most damage to the environment is caused by industrial and manufacturing waste. i told him that community recycling programs waste more energy and fossil fuels picking up and sorting the waste, than is save through recycling*. i told him that many jurisdictions just landfill waste that was supposed to be recycled anyway. and, i told him that, at current rate of consumption, we could easily store the entire world’s waste in a 40-mile by 40-mile landfill, say, in australia or iceland, and that would serve the entire world perfectly fine for 1000 years.
he was disgusted, apalled, shocked. he couldn’t even fathom that i might be right, that all of the propaganda about recycling programs was false. people recycle because it makes them feel good. but, in actuality, it’s needless, because most community recycling programs waste energy and resources.
as he stood up, he looked down at me in my seat, and said nice talking with you, eric and walked down the aisle. then i woke up. this was the dream i had two nights ago… i suppose it’s what i get for falling asleep while watching the presidential debate i downloaded.
* the one exception to my claim is aluminum cans. recycling aluminum cans saves energy and resources… that’s why companies pay a premium to recycle your aluminum cans, as opposed to say glass or paper.





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