the current state of the recycling programs in the US are in complete shambles. 10 years ago, recyclables had monetary value. Waste haulers could sell recyclables for $30-$50 per ton. Recyclers are inundated with recyclable materials now, and have more material than they could possibly process in the years. As a result, they now charge waste haulers $40-$60 per ton to accept recyclable materials. In a lot of cases, it costs a waste hauler more money to dispose of recyclable materials than it costs to dump waste at a landfill. As a result, even in waste haulers accept recyclable material that you've painstakingly sorted into separate bins, it all gets dumped into the same truck and dumped in a landfill.