The environment is something that we should all be concerned about. Our planet is getting more polluted every day and this includes the oceans, landfills, and just about everywhere else where there are people. One way that you can help out with this problem is by recycling your trash or throwing it away responsibly instead of littering on the streets.
Recycling is defined as the process of taking used products and creating new items from them. This means that when you recycle your trash, you are essentially giving it a second life after its initial purpose is fulfilled.
Recycling has become very popular in most countries around the world but there is still more than enough room for this trend to continue growing. Here are 15 reasons why recycling is important.
15 Benefits Of Recycling For A Sustainable Environment
Recycling is important because it helps the environment. It also cuts down on waste, which is great for the Earth. Recycling is a way to help out your community and save money!
1. Recycling Preserves Resources
Natural resources take millions of years to create so if we run out or contaminate them in some way, it can be bad news. There are limited resources in this world and having to make new items from scratch would be very time-consuming and expensive. Recycling is a great way to preserve the Earth’s resources.
Instead of creating new goods with trees, oil, natural gas, and raw minerals, manufacturers use our recycled materials and save 30-90% of the energy they would consume if they were created from the fresh feedstock.
Recycling old items, such as paper and plastic, saves natural resources.
2. Recycling Helps Save Energy
There is a lot of energy that goes into creating items from scratch, so recycling helps save this much-needed resource. Less energy means less pollution and more money saved!
Recycling just one ton of paper can save 17 trees, 7 thousand gallons of water, or enough energy to power a home for six months. Recycling aluminum cans saves 95% of the energy used in manufacturing new cans from scratch.
3. Recycling Helps Create Green Energy
Recycling reduces the amount of energy required in the manufacturing and processing of new raw materials, resulting in lower carbon emissions. It also prevents potentially methane-emitting waste from going into landfills.
Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere must be controlled to avoid catastrophic climate change.
A renewable source of energy is made from organic materials that can be harvested regularly. Using items that are recycled, like paper and plastic, helps create more of this type of energy. These organic materials include cornstalks, coconut shells, and wood chips.
Renewable energy is an important part of our future. Recycling helps get us there!
4. Recycling Reduces The Demand Of Raw Materials
The ever-increasing demand for new items has resulted in more people being driven from their homes or exploited as a result of poverty and vulnerability. Forest communities may be evicted as a consequence of the search for cheap timber, and rivers can be clogged or poisoned by industrial waste.
When you recycle an item, you are using it for its maximum potential. This saves the Earth’s natural resources and cuts down on pollution.
There is a finite number of raw materials in our world so recycling helps reduce the demand for these items so they can be used again in the future. Without this practice, we could run out of raw materials and food!
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5. Recycling Increases Life Spans Of Items
When you recycle an item, it can live longer than before. This prevents waste by using an item again instead of making a new one from scratch. By recycling, you are prolonging the life of an item.
Recycling one aluminum can save enough energy to run a television for three hours! By recycling paper, fewer trees need to be cut down, leaving them able to soak up more carbon dioxide and produce oxygen for us to breathe.
6. Recycling Is Cost-Effective
The recycling process uses fewer resources and energy than creating new products. This saves money and preserves more natural resources for future generations.
It is cheaper to recycle an item than to create a new product from raw materials because recycling uses simpler processes. Recycling programs can be costly but the cost is worth the positive environmental impact!
7. Recycling Provides Economic Security
When the natural resources we rely on so heavily begin to dwindle, we will have to deal with a huge scarcity. It is important now to reduce our dependence on these resources and recycle as much as possible!
When you recycle an item, it can be used again by someone else. This also gives recycling companies more work to do, which helps the economy. Recycling creates around 2.5 million jobs in America alone!
Recycling and purchasing recycled goods increases demand for more recycled items, lowering waste and boosting the economy. Many businesses around the world rely on recycling programs to supply their recycled goods. According to reports, the recycling business earns over $100 million every year.
8. Recycling Nurtures Wildlife
Earth is home to an immense variety of life and recycling helps keep it that way. By keeping waste out of landfills, we create a healthier habitat for the animals living there.
The recycling business is vital to combat the extinction of some species. For example, pandas are endangered because their natural habitat is being destroyed by deforestation; however, recycling can help keep pandas alive.
Animals can be injured or killed by ingesting plastic bags and other trash discarded carelessly by humans. Turning these items into recycled goods keeps wildlife safe.
9. Recycling Combats With Climate Problems
The rapid rise in global surface temperatures has been linked to an increase in greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. These gases can be recycled and put back as part of a cycle instead of being emitted through smokestacks or exhaust pipes!
By reusing items, we also reduce mining activity and carbon emissions from electricity production, which both harm the environment. This helps reduce air pollution and combat climate change.
10. Recycling Reduces The Use Of Landfill Space
Each year, Americans produce 250 million tons of trash. When dealt with improperly, this trash can take up a lot of space in landfills.
Landfills are the third-largest source of methane in the United States. They pollute the planet by releasing dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere that contribute to global warming. We can help reduce landfill size by recycling items that won’t decompose, like plastic.
11. Recycling Reduces Pollution
Recycling helps reduce pollution in the air by putting less garbage into landfills each year. Instead of throwing your plastic bottles or paper away, you could recycle them to make another item!
According to a study by the University of Central Oklahoma, recycling paper reduces air and water pollution by 73 percent and 35%, respectively.
This leads to less garbage in our oceans, rivers, and lakes. It also helps reduce the number of greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere by trucks and other vehicles.
12. Recycling Helps Preserve The Environment
Environmentally-friendly items are good for the Earth because they reduce harm to the planet. When you recycle an item, it doesn’t go to a landfill where harmful chemicals leach into the soil and water.
This practice decreases the number of new materials that need to be mined or harvested from forests. When we recycle, we cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and help control global warming.
Hence recycling reduces pollution and restores vitality to our environment by putting resources back in circulation!
13. Recycling Can Enhance Technological Advancements
Some of our greatest technological advancements have been thanks to waste. Our children’s children will not be able to enjoy a technologically-advanced society if we do not make strides towards more efficient technology.
Most notably, recycling helped us incorporate LED technology into our lighting! LED light bulbs are much more energy-efficient than incandescent lightbulbs, and only 5% of the material that goes into creating them can be recycled.
Electricity use is reduced in recycling plants because the production process is more efficient. This helps save energy, keeps our homes cool in warm months, and reduces the need for new power plants.
14. Recycling Can Make A Difference
An individual may make a significant impact in the field of recycling. It all starts with one small step.
Every year, the average American produces about 1600 pounds of garbage. Up to 1000 pounds of waste can be recycled each person every year. A single cubic yard of typical garbage can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. That’s equivalent to half a ton per person. This indicates that every family of four may save more than two tons of waste each year simply by recycling easily.
When every American makes a recycling effort, we can collectively save about one million tons of waste. That is enough to fill thousands of shipping containers.
15. Recycling Promises Sustainability
It is possible to sustain life on Earth well into the future. However, it will be difficult or impossible if we do not take advantage of available technologies.
We need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions now to prevent future problems like extreme weather events and arctic ice melt due to global warming. Recycling enhances our natural resource capacity and helps us adapt to a changing planet.
Today, we can recycle almost anything in one way or another – it may just save our planet after all. This makes our environment sustainable and improves the future for everyone.
The Importance Of Recycling – Conclusion
Recycling is beneficial because it reduces energy use, protects human health, and enhances environmental safety. We depend on our planet as our home and we need to take care of it.
Recycling is an excellent step in reducing waste. Adopting a “reduce, reuse, recycle” mentality can make simple changes to decrease landfill size and increase resource availability.
References
- https://www.ecocyclesolutionshub.org/about-zero-waste/resource-depletion/
- https://www.mga.edu/sustainability/docs/Recycling_Facts.pdf
- https://www.greenbiz.com/article/why-worlds-biggest-companies-are-investing-recycling
- https://cleanriver.com/blog-how-recycling-protects-animals-and-humans/#:~:text=On%20a%20small%20scale%2C%20recycling,helps%20to%20preserve%20their%20habitats.
- https://www.epa.gov/lmop/basic-information-about-landfill-gas
- https://sciencing.com/can-recycling-prevent-pollution-7455182.html
- https://www.any-lamp.com/blog/can-led-light-recycled
- https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/lifestyle/trash-one-person-produces-year/
- https://www.crcresearch.org/community-research-connections/crc-case-studies/sustainable-waste-management-value-recycling-and-com
A sophomore in engineering, I’m a budding writer and an adventure enthusiast. My passion leads me on to try my hands on different things. I enjoy music, food, and good company. Making my way through life in my own ways, you’ll find me holding a camera and capturing what this world has to offer.