The McDonnell administration is getting into Earth Week, and , as is the case with so many things associated with the environment, the first target is children and the preferred method is recycling. From a press release, we learn that the secretaries of education and natural resources are combining their forces to get K-12 kids hooked on recycling in order to save Gaia from further harm:
Carbon footprints, eh? I must have missed the announcement that school choice (one of the Secretary’s priorities) had broken out across the commonwealth. But as feel-good slogans only go so far, cash and other prizes are offered to encourage participation. Not to be left on the bench, Secretary Domenech joins in the cheering:
I should know better than to expect more from cabinet officers determined to put a gloss things…but I can’t help myself.
Instead of parroting the line that all recycling is good, no matter what, perhaps a wiser, though more nuanced approach, would be for the assorted tie-wearing worthies to understand a few economic realities about recycling. Take, for instance, this report from the Minneapolis Fed from a few years back. It takes a look at the economic pros and cons of recycling and concludes:
In this light, Secretary Domenech’s statement that “…every aluminum can or plastic bottle recycled is one step in the right direction toward a healthier and cleaner Virginia,” isn’t quite true — if our intent is to get the most societal benefit from recycling. Locally-tailored plans, or even those that focus on recyclables that provide the greatest return, would be far better.
But if one’s intent is to goad children into mindlessly recycling whatever they can get their hands on and dress it up as saving the world– for the promise of prizes — then the secretaries are right on their (fuzzy and economically illiterate) target.
