Case to Scrap Recycling

Cash 4 Cars Akron is back with another interesting topic. We are referred to as a place where to scrap my car, the guy who junks cars and a junk vehicle removal service. As mentioned previously the value of a junk car has recently declined. Junk vehicle removal costs unfortunately do not coincide for a company who junks cars. If you are pondering where to scrap my car in Highland Square, Barberton, Ravenna, then look no further. We pay cash for wrecked cars and damaged vehicles 6 days a week. To junk a car in Akron, Clinton or Fairlawn simply give us a call. Our next topic focuses primarily on the economics of municipally-based recycles. It has been somewhat of a controversy because it can be counterintuitive to traditional thinking.

On Oct 24, 2015 in newsweek.com, Mr. Thomas Kinnaman composed an article titled ‘Putting a True Price on Recycling Trash’ with the following: “A recent study suggests the amount of US waste disposed in landfills is over twice what the EPA had been estimating. Plans for zero waste have been hatched in places including Berkeley and Indianapolis. Is more recycling always better than less recycling? Is it conceivable that society can recycle too much? Our recycling habits developed not in the wake of a scientific understanding but perhaps, as John Tierney describes in his recent NYT piece, on a leap of faith. Last year, I co-authored a study to estimate society’s optimal recycling rate. Results surprised us—society’s best recycling rate is only 10%. And only specific recyclable materials should be included in that 10%.

Economic studies estimate that landfills depress neighboring property values, although this impact appears to diminish for small landfills. A growing number of life cycle analyses suggest that mining raw materials is damaging to the environment, and manufacturing goods with recycled materials rather than new ones can be beneficial to the environment. The magnitude of these benefits varies across materials. Finally, the economics literature suggests recycling requires more resources than simple waste disposal. The value of the extra energy, labor & machinery necessary to prepare materials for recycling can double the value of resources needed to dispose the material in the landfill. Our conclusion was that recycling up to 10% appears to reduce social costs, but any recycling over 10% costs the environment and the economy more than it helps. Also, many of the benefits & costs associated with waste disposal and recycling vary across regions of the country and world, and thus optimal recycling rates may also vary.

The environmental damages of modern landfills & incineration plants turn out to be less than traditionally imagined. These facilities depress neighboring property values—on average each ton of landfill waste is found to reduce property values by about $4. Modern facilities are required to abide by environmental standards, and air and water pollutants such as methane and carbon (and the carbon monoxide & consumption from the trucks transporting waste to these facilities) appear less than previously expected. Environmental standards have increased disposal paid by waste generators by as much as $50 per ton, but the remaining costs have fallen to roughly $5 per ton. Thus, waste disposal facilities generate just $9 per ton in costs ($4 from depressed property values + $5 from air & water pollutants). Because these costs do not appear on the balance sheet of the facility, the assessment of a corrective tax of $9 per ton disposed is necessary for disposal facilities to consider these costs when making decisions. Once this tax is in place, laws requiring municipalities to engage in recycling can be lifted.

Recycling is rather costly to municipal governments. The cost for NYC to process one ton of materials for recycling is about $300 more than the cost of taking that same material to the landfill. The primary benefits of recycling accrue not from saving landfill space but from generating materials that are less costly to the environment than mining those materials from the Earth. Our study concludes that using an average ton of certain recycled materials in the place of a ton of virgin materials generates environmental benefits of as much as $400 per ton. But the substantial environmental benefits of using recycled materials in production vary substantially across materials. Aluminum & other metals are environmentally costly to mine. Paper is costly to manufacture from raw sources. Glass and plastic are relatively easy on the environment when manufactured raw. The optimal rate of 10% should contain primarily aluminum, metals & forms of paper & cardboard. Optimal recycling rates for these materials may be near 100% while rates of recycling plastic & glass might be zero. To encourage this, a subsidy offered only on those materials whose life cycles generate positive environmental benefits should be applied. The economy & the environment, speaking in one voice, may wish for society to reduce the overall quantity of waste recycled. Perhaps recycling efforts need to focus on only t specific materials that really matter to the economy & environment. Other materials can be simply disposed of in modern facilities.” The full article is available here.

The Value of a Junk Car Declining

The junk vehicle removal business is struggling with a drop in the value of a junk car. Are you asking who junks cars in Norton, Monroe Falls or Green? Are you wondering where to scrap my car in Medina, Coventry Township or the Portage Lakes? By simply calling our junk car buyer at (330) 271-6464 you will receive a fast junk car quote right over the phone. In most cases, we can scrap your car within a couple of hours!