I was on a recycling board in Southern Alberta. We prepared cardboard bales.

Transport was done by back haul, meaning cardboard moves mostly by trucks that would otherwise be empty. The full rates were not part of the transport costs. We were sending bales anywhere from Seattle to Montreal. One has to wonder at the cost of moving recycled material around the continent.

This a good example of how our economics is unbalanced. We need a better system of governance to manage recycling.

BTW, I was a first adopter when Edmonton introduced its recycling center in 1985. Plastics was a problem back then. Thirty-six years, plastics is still a problem. Another sign that we need to rethink governance.