Recycling

Recycling has been criticised in recent years for being quite an energy intensive process (particularly when there is a demand to 'conceal' the first life of a product, as with pure white, recycled office paper), and for not having enough impact on the unsustainable expansion of material culture. In the case of the increase in 'recyclable' disposable products like cameras, it could be argued that it is even promoting this expansion. Recyclate should be treated as a scarce resource, certainly not as a justification for a new product.
If you are interested in the recycling debate, see Tim Cooper's Beyond Recycling paper.