Why is recycling so important, you might ask? You might even wonder about the impacts of recycling. Recycling dates back to the 1970s and has been on the rise ever since. Recycling significantly impacts the planet while increasing its environmental and economic well-being. The added benefit is that you decrease your carbon footprint too.
Environmental Advantages of Recycling
By recycling, we realize how much stuff we consume and how much actual trash is created by us. Therefore, we learn to be empathetic to the planet. These are some of the benefits of recycling:
- Decreases Pollution and Emission of Greenhouse Gases:
Recycling decreases the need for newer materials to build different things. It saves up on a lot of natural resources that can be used for many other things. Since making new things from new materials releases more greenhouse gases, we can reduce their emission by recycling those materials instead.
- Saving Natural Resources:
Natural resources are limited, and it’s time that we fully acknowledge and accept that fact. We should recycle whatever we can to slow our rapid mining and consumption of natural resources. This act will help future generations since they can rely on these saved-up natural resources in times of need.
- Conserving Energy:
It has been calculated and proven that recycling materials and turning them into new products consume less energy than creating new materials. This also saves on the cost of producing new materials while promoting reduced greenhouse emissions.
- Decreased Landfill Waste:
We don’t recycle everything we use, but it can be recycled. Only 32% of trash is recycled. This leaves a major 68% of products in landfills. By abstaining from recycling, we are wasting resources since that recycled product could have saved natural resources.
Landfills take up an immense space which contributes to wasting land. Not only do they take up land, but they also pose serious health risks due to their toxicity. All of this can be solved by recycling.
One estimate is that by recycling, we could reduce carbon emissions, equivalent to taking 42 million cars off the road each year. This is an impressive number, especially since we don’t recycle much.
Economic Advantages of Recycling
Recycling has deep ties with the manufacturing industry. This is why recycling can reap many economic benefits.
- Supports Economic Justice:
Most natural resources are extracted from low-income communities. Most landfill sites are also located in places like these. These sites are known to cause toxic waste leaks and environmental deterioration.
All of this can be solved by increasing recycling rates. This will be the perfect alternative for people to get rid of landfills. Better jobs with high incomes will rise with the expansion of the recycling industry. This will help impoverished workers to support themselves financially and establish their families.
- Creates Better Jobs:
Recycling is not only about helping the planet and reducing your carbon footprint but also helps many people gain jobs. The recycling industry has stated that nearly two new jobs are created for every 1,000 tons of recycled material.
Therefore, if everyone in a community or even a country supports and applies recycling in their life, then they could indirectly feed someone or help someone gain a job. This will significantly help the economy since there will now be more capital contributors.
- Lowers Production Prices:
There is a rich gap between recycling a product to make new products and creating new products from scratch. Recycling can reduce the energy cost of production by up to 95%. This saved expense can help cancel out the costs of gathering and recycling those materials.
What Is Recyclable?
Recycling is easier than you think, and you can recycle most common objects too.
- Paper:
Recycling paper and the things derived from paper, like cardboard, can help save the planet's forests and water. Statistics say that 17 trees can be saved if recycled one ton of cardboard or paper. Furthermore, you also save 22.5-kilowatt hours of energy and 7,000 gallons of water.
- Plastic:
The most commonly used material and the one which fills up most of the planet’s seas and landfills, plastic can be recycled too. All seven types of plastics can be recycled. However, only two types are recycled, and the other two are not accepted in most American plants. To be on the safe side, check the bottom of the product for its type and then find a recycling plant that accepts that material.
- Aluminum:
Aluminum can be recycled forever, granting it the top spot for being environmentally friendly. Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy needed to make new products. Recycled aluminum is very malleable and can easily form new shapes.
- Glass:
Glass can be recycled entirely too. Like aluminum, it can be used and reused forever without compromising purity or quality. Recycled glass can be ground down into dust and used to make new glass products.
You can also reduce the number of emissions in glass-blowing plants by using recycled glass in production furnaces. For every ton of recycled glass used in production, over one ton of other natural resources is conserved.
Why Is Recycling Important?
Recycling is important since it will inevitably help the future generations of this planet. We can slow down global warming or even stop it by reducing greenhouse emissions. Not only does it offer environmental benefits but economic benefits too. Cardboard, glass, paper, and aluminum can all be universally recycled. Plastic can be recycled, but check the type your local recycling plant accepts.