Why Everyone Should Recycle
Why Everyone Should Recycle
Blog Article
Recycling is sort of like exercising: we all know we should do it, but not all of us do it as often as we shouldand some of us dont do it at all. However, there are lots of reasons why you should make an effort to recycle as much as possible. If you havent been diligent about recycling your garbage, here are seven good reasons why you should start.
It cuts back on global warming. Our planet is starting to feel the effects of global warming alreadyand we need to do whatever we can to lessen the impact. Production of certain materials from scratch can release significant amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. Aluminum production is a prime exampleproducing new aluminum creates 95% more CO2 than recycling old aluminum cans. In addition, recycling paper saves treesfor each ton of 순천1인샵 paper recycled, 17 trees are saved. Each of these trees can extract around 250 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air in a year.
It makes us more energy-efficient. It often takes a great 대전서구로미로미 deal more energy to create something from scratch than to recycle it. For example, it takes twice as much energy to burn plastic as to recycle it; it takes 64% more energy to make paper than to recycle it; and recycling just one pound of steel can save enough energy to run a 60-watt bulb for one day.
It keeps our landfills from overflowing. Were fast running out of space for landfillsespecially near cities. Seaside cities have been dumping trash into their oceans for decades to circumvent the problem, but with widespread marine ecological collapse, this is no longer a viable option. Worse yet, its difficult to find land in suburban and rural areas whose residents will allow landfills to come into their areas without a fight. The squeeze for landfill land is only going to get worse in the future.
Recycling gives us some hope for this bleak scenario. Studies show that 60% to 75% of garbage in landfills can be recycled. That means that if everybody recycled, wed have 60% to 75% less garbage in our landfills, and wed need at least that much less land for garbage disposal.
It improves the quality of our groundwater. The garbage in landfills is usually not treated in any wayits simply thrown in a big hole and buried over. Much of this garbage is not environmentally friendly or readily biodegradableand its no surprise that contaminants can get into our water. Rain and other runoff from landfills gets into our streams, rivers, lakes, and other waterways, damaging fragile ecosystems. Its also a major reason why its not safe to drink from streams and rivers when youre hiking and campingeven when it looks like youre in a pristine environment. Recycling reduces the trash in landfills, and the more we recycle, the more our water systems can start becoming as pure as they look.
It reduces air pollution. Many factories that produce plastics, metals, and paper products release toxins into the air. Recycle these materials, and there will be less need for companies to manufacture new materialssaving on the amount of pollution dumped into our atmosphere. In addition, disposing of certain recyclable materials can also produce significant pollution. For example, plastics are often burned in incinerators. Plastics are made with oil, and that oil is released into the atmosphere when the plastic burnscreating serious greenhouse-gas emissions.
It creates jobs. From manufacturing to processing, from collection to inventionits no secret that recycling is a growth industry, earning billions of dollars annually. Our need to recycle is only going to grow more urgent as populations grow and as technology changes. Recycling creates far more jobs than landfills doenough jobs to make a big difference in a small town.
It adds to property value. Its obvious that a landfill near your home can decrease your property values significantly. Recycling reduces the amount of land needed for landfills. This reduces the number of houses near landfills, keeping property values up and homeowners happy. The more people recycle, the fewer landfills we needand if enough people pitch in, recycling should pay off for everybody.
Its good business. Pitting business against the environment is a lose-lose situation: everybody suffers. And yet, thats how the debate has been framed in politics and the public sphere for years. This is a shame, because the truth is that recycling just makes good business sense. Industrial factories and processing plants save plenty of money on energy and extraction strategies when they use recycled materials instead of virgin resources. They also ensure that basic resources dont become a scarce commodity, keeping demand and prices down and ensuring that their business can continue for decades to come.
One person can make a difference. With so many good causes, its easy to get discouragedespecially when the problem is so widespread that its hard to see what difference your individual effort is making. Many people think this is true with recycling, toobut the truth is that small acts of recycling make a big difference. For example, recycling just one large newspaper would save around 75,000 trees. On average, each person in the U.S. produces around 1,600 lbs. of waste each year. If you recycled all of that, you could save around 1,100 lbs. of waste per yearthats over half a tonjust by yourself!
We hope that after reading this article, youll be inspired to become a recycling advocateor at least be certain to recycle in 마포왁싱 the future. Recycling benefits everybody, and takes only a little trash-sorting to put into effect. With our limited space for landfills and dwindling resources, its a sure thing that recycling is here to stay.
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