Ditto
Not all restaurants use gutter oil.
Not all Chinese toys use lead paint.
Not all milk here is tainted with melamine.
Not all eggs/rice/etc/etc in China are fake.

I saw a documentary at the CNEX festival that just finished at Yunnan University about landfills in Beijing. It's depressing, but one point that you can take out of it, is that a poor person somewhere along the way of the garbage chain will make sure recycling occurs. Your empty bottles even if tossed in the bin, won't ever be buried in a landfill as someone will pick them out eventually.

I just put all the bottles in a bag and leave them down outside of the our complex in the alley. They always magically disappear before the next day. In some complexes, the elderly go around collecting these, even if they live in a fancier flat than you.

Well, thank God I don't visit those places, and instead get drunk when I am alone at home, during the day. - This is probably why you did'nt see the recycle guy on the bike.

That explains a lot.

@Dazzer

You're right. It's not ALL bad. That's why I'm still here. You just have to think twice before consuming things. After awhile you get to get the hang of what's out there. I still love being here.