The case for recycling

[tomdemaine]

So my office just "went green" which includes taking away the plastic cups for our coffee vending machine and paper towels from the toilet. Now most of my info on recycling comes from the Penn and Teller show but those guys aren't always 100% with the proofs. Obviously I'm skeptical of any government produced report who's reccommendation is more government power so I'm looking for some independant info on the pro's and cons of recycling certain products using electic hand dryers vs paper towels that sort of thing.

My concern is that little stuff like this doesn't actually help the environment much if at all but it makes people feel good for no reason and stops them thinking about actual solutions to environmental issues. Much like welfare hurts the poor and it stops people worrying about the poor and actually finding solutions to poverty.