# RECYCLING HYPE?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-hype/10740>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 18, 2000, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-hype/10740 "2000-04-18T20:38:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tertal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@tertal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tertal)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2000, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-hype/10740/1 "2000-04-18T20:38:00Z")

</div>

Five years ago recycling was the trendy thing in the media, what happen now was are problems solved?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Lord\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecccb3/32.png) [@Lord\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Jim)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2000, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-hype/10740/2 "2000-04-18T21:49:00Z")

</div>

I recycle stuff all the time, I thought it was as big of a deal now as ever.  
Tuba, darlin’, this thread needs to move somewhere else.

Tertal, this forum is for comments and questions about the board itself, how it works, how to get stuff to work, that sorta thing. If you want a general question answered, you should ask it in the General Questions forum.

Jim

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2000, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-hype/10740/3 "2000-04-18T22:08:00Z")

</div>

Moving this to GQ.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![abderian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@abderian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abderian)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-hype/10740/4 "2000-04-20T13:39:00Z")

</div>

[QUORE]Five years ago recycling was the trendy thing in the media, what happen now was are problems solved?  
[/QUOTE]

The problem of limited resources and consumer pollution are far from solved, but the issue of recycling no longer qualifies as “news”. Most large cities have well-established recycling programs in place. Much of the recycling movement was little more than a “feel-good” response, anyway.

You don’t hear as much about recycling, because, like many “bandwagon” trends, the public uproar has died down somewhat. The masses rise up over some issue, the media hypes it to explosive levels, and then gradually, the roar of the crowds fade as people move on to another issue.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-hype/10740/5 "2000-04-21T05:05:00Z")

</div>

- 
  - 
    - A year from now the media will have blockbuster stories about how much recycling programs cost, and how little financial and practical good they accomplish. - MC

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-hype/10740/6 "2000-04-20T18:21:00Z")

</div>

You know, I read the topic header for this and read it as “Recycling of Hype” as opposed to “Hype about Recycling”. You know, something like…

1960’s - “The Corvair! The greatest car ever!”  
1970’s - “The Pinto! The greatest car ever!”  
1980’s - “The Yugo! The greatest car ever!”  
1990’s - “The Metro! The greatest car ever!”

## You get the idea…

“Sometimes I think the web is just a big plot to keep people like me away from normal society.” — Dilbert