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Before determining the "cost" of recycling, it is important to understand what a "cost" actually is. With all the regulation and debate around it, recycling may not seem like an economic concept, but indeed it is. Because of this fact, we need to establish an "economic" definition of cost.

Cost is the amount or value of money given up in order to produce a product. Cost can also be the amount of money given up to "acquire" something. Through its definitions, we are able to determine that "cost" is not only an economic term, but an economic term that would fall under the realm of "accounting". In fact, accounting could be said to be simply a record of costs. What is cost to one, is revenue to another.

If we examine the first part of our definition, it would seem at first glance that it has little to do with recycling. This couldn't be further from the truth. Every bit of recycling, no matter how small, is recycled for just this reason, to be reentered into the production process and to eventually again become a product. We are recycling the remains of past product into a future product. Aluminum cans could become table saw tops, plastic bottles might be park benches and newspaper could become, well newspaper!

Why then aren't we paid to recycle? We are paid to recycle. Every element that is acceptable in the recycle bin has a value. Aluminum cans will fetch about a dollar a pound. The newspaper, cardboard, glass and plastic all have particular values that change daily with the supply and demand. You can transport your scrap recycling to a local yard and they will pay you the current rates. What they won't do is pick it up for you.

Now, if your local municipality promised to cover their costs and add a bit of profit and let them keep all the value that the recycling scrap contained, the garbage hauler definately will pick it up for you. They just won't pay you. In fact, you are paying not only your garbage provider for this extra service but paying more taxes that cover the extra costs that your local government incurs from the garbage service provider. Add to that the fact that garbage companies work as monopolies in much the same manner as utility companies. They are "awarded" contract areas from the cities in which they provide monopolized service. Some of these contracts are awarded by auction and others by the buddy-buddy system.

The second part of our definition notes that "cost" can be the amount of value given up to "acquire" something. Recycling, it would

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