&gt; separation by the consumer is still more effective than having it done after collection.<p>Why would this be true? I would think that a worker after collection would be 10x more efficient and precise when separating recyclables then individuals doing it piecemeal.<p>The consumer is certainly paid less than a employee to do that job badly (in comparison), but there&#x27;s no way that the extra taxes that I would have to pay to have recyclables sorted centrally would be higher than value of the time it takes to sort it myself.