Recycling persists not because it’s efficient (it isn’t) or effective (it’s much less so than we think) but because we are obligated to do something.
To make matters worse, almost two-thirds of Canada’s waste is produced by the industrial, commercial, institutional, and construction and demolition sectors in everything from factories to office buildings which are serviced by private waste haulers. Unless they can make a profit selling recyclables, which depends on market prices at the time of sale, there’s little incentive for these haulers to recycle.