Economics of recycling getting much worse

The world economic slowdown has hit recyclers hard as prices for everything from metals to plastics to paper have fallen dramatically in the last few months. While the downturn hasn't yet completely shut down many municipal recycling programs in the United States, in some areas the precipitous price drop has led recyclers to stop collecting certain items and/or hoard tons of recyclables in warehouses while they wait for prices to recover.

sources: Associated Press, The New York Times