Turning CO2 into "environmentally friendly acid"

A company called Mantra is recycling CO2 into formic acid, which can be used as a substitute for hydrochloric acid. Among other uses, the steel industry uses hydrochloric acid to remove rust, and this would be a more environmentally friendly substitute.

Supposedly one ton of CO2 can be converted to one ton of formic acid.

Evidently there is already a pretty big world market for formic acid. Research firm Global Industry Analysts projects it to reach 573,000 tons by 2012. Chemical companies like BASF, Celanese Chemicals, Kemira, Perstorp and SAMSUNG Fine Chemicals are already making conventional formalic acid. See the full story here.

Wouldn't it be great to find other cool ways to recycle CO2, since we're already pumping it into the atmosphere by the boatload?

Why should I pay extra to recycle when my neighbors just throw everything away?

That used to be my philosophy, and I avoided paying the extra charge for a recycling bin in Overland Park for several years.

This morning, coming back from the gym, I noticed the mounds of trash at my neighbor's street front. It was way more trash than a five-person family needs to generate, and it's a decent amount every week.

"If only they would recycle, half of that stuff wouldn't go to landfills," my wife said.

The problem is in Overland Park, Kan., the city's trash contract makes you pay extra for the privilege of doing the right thing for the community and the planet as a whole. Recycling costs $3 a month, on top of $16 for trash disposal.

As one of the largest cities in the state, and certainly one of the most progressive, it seems recycling should simply be figured into the trash service. About 44% of Overland Park households recycle, according to the Kansas City Star. That figure would surely be much higher if it were not for the surcharge.

Nearby Lenexa has a mandatory recycling fee, and nearly 70% of households participate.

Overland Park's city council approved such a recycling fee in October 2008. Consumer backlash was so severe that the council quickly rescinded the measure by a 9-2 vote. The council may take up the matter again, and if they do, here's one way it could be done: trash pickup fees go up for everyone, and now the fee just so happens to include recycling too. Do that for $17.50 a month and I'm sold.

I'm normally not a fan of backdoor regulations, but it really does irk me that, by recycling, I pay a financial penalty for doing the right thing.