Had the recycling discussion in class today...Why do I even go there?? :)

In class today (3A) we had a rousing discussion on the merits of recycling. Specifically, I proposed that re-cycling paper may not  be advantageous and even harmful to the environment--is the intention to save trees (which are renewable) or is it to conserve all resources (it takes lots of other, non-renewable resources to recycle)...Regardless or your opinion, I found this comment this evening on the topic that offers additional food for thought:

""There is a simple test for determining whether something is a resource (something valuable) or just garbage (something you want to dispose of at the lowest possible cost, including costs to the environment). If someone will pay you for the item, it's a resource. Or, if you can use the item to make something else people want, and do it at lower price or higher quality than you could without that item, then the item is also a resource. But if you have to pay someone to take the item away, or if other things made with that item cost more or have lower quality, then the item is garbage. [...]
"Recycle, regardless of cost!" doesn't solve a problem; it creates one. Laws requiring recycling harm me, the environment, and everyone else. We have to take prices into account, because prices are telling us that we can't save resources by wasting resources.""

What do you think? Agree or disagree?