Print-on-demand newspaper kiosks

Early in the morning, sometimes I see a man emptying stacks of unbought newspapers from a dispenser outside my apartment into the back of a big, dumpster-esque pickup. I assume this happens in other places, as well, including the various human-run newsstands and mall news kiosks all over.

Now, I am pretty sure that these unused papers go straight to the recycling plant, which is neato and super-great. However, why expend the energy to recycle them and waste the ink needed to print them in the first place?

I propose that, in select locations, merchants install kiosks which have a ready supply of blank newsprint paper and incorporate a cheap printer of some sort. When someone wished to purchase a dollop of bad news, he or she would simply deposit their money as usual and pick up the paper when it dropped conveniently into a basket at waist level.

The machine would keep a reserve supply of papers so the user wouldn't have to wait to get their paper. When it detected that the number of papers was getting low, it would quickly print up five or six advance copies and plop 'em into an internal dispenser.

Obviously, this would only work in public places where there was a someone around to watch the machine, to prevent vandalism. However, in places like the inside of gas stations and at airports, the responsibility for keeping a casual eye on the kiosk would probably not be overly much for the adolescent hovering about the counter, no matter how stoned or engrossed in Immanuel Kant he or she happens to be.

Note: that last statement implies no bias toward either of the listed occupations... <g>