Did you know that Americans throw away about a million pounds of garbage each year? Landfills meant to keep the waste away from society are overflowing with our trash. The trees that provide us oxygen are all being cut down because people are choosing not to recycle. The plastic that we make water bottles out of are showing up on beaches and causing pollution and harming animals. Recycling is one of the most important things to do on our earth, considering we are running out of valuable materials faster than we can save them. Recycling is the process of converting waste into reusable material. We are not being respectful and taking care of our world. We are harming our earth. We need to make a difference and help save it before it’s too late. Recycling is key to waste reduction that needs to become a part of everyone’s everyday life.
There are many reasons why people do not recycle. The scientists at Huffington Post did a study to find out approximately how many people recycle and how many do not recycle. They found out why the people that do not recycle, do not choose to do it. At the end of the test, it turned out that 65% of the people they interviewed did not recycle. There were many main reasons that the subjects said why they did not recycle. Twenty-five percent of people explained it is not available where they live. Ten percent said that it takes to much time to clean the recyclables and take them to a recycling center. Another ten percent confessed that they forget very often to recycle. Eight percent noted that because of the cost, they don’t recycle. Six percent pointed out that they have a lack of knowledge of what is recyclable and what is not. A slim 3 percent stated that they don’t feel like recycling makes a difference. A very small 2 percent believed that recycling wasn’t important. Lastly, the left over 1 percent of the people interviewed didn’t understand how recycling improves our society.
According to the University Of Central Oklahoma, there are many reasons for recycling.
One of the first reasons to recycle is to preserve natural resources in our environment. According to the University of Central Oklahoma, “In the United States, we cut down 2 million trees every day to produce newsprint and paper products. The second reason is that recycling reduces energy consumption. We can recycle plastic bottles, aluminum cans, steel, and paper. This will help our world with another problem which is the next reason, pollution. Pollution is a major problem, but we can fix it easily by recycling. According to the University of Central Oklahoma, “If aluminum recovery were doubled worldwide, more than a million tons of air pollutants would be eliminated every year.”According to the University of Central Oklahoma, “ Manufacturing products from recycled paper reduces water pollution by 35% and air pollutants by 73%. Using recycled steel in manufacturing can cut down on 76% of the water pollutants, 86% of the air pollutants, and 97% of the mining wastes that would normally be produced. Using recycled glass can reduce the water used by manufacturing by 50%, cut air pollution by 20%, and reduce mining wastes by 80%. The fourth reason to recycle is a reduced need for landfills due to less trash being produced.” Also, according to the University Of Central Oklahoma, “In the United States, landfills include more than 80 percent of all solid waste. Recycling could cut our waste volumes by 50 percent or more, drastically reducing the pressure on landfills and other disposal systems.” The fifth reason is that recycling reduces litter. The University Of Central Oklahoma once said, “Litter is a costly, as well as unsightly problem. The University Of Central Oklahoma once said, “We pay an estimated thirty-two cents for each piece of litter picked up by crews along state highways, which adds up to $500 million every year.” And finally, the last reason is that recycling raises awareness. When more people learn about recycling, there is a better chance they will recycle too.
According to The Guides Network recycling is important to our environment because it disposes of trash and other wastes that could harm the plant and animal life in the area. According to The Guides Network, here is how recycling helps the environment, “Harmful chemicals and greenhouse gases are released from rubbish in landfill sites. Recycling helps to reduce the pollution caused by waste. Habitat destruction and global warming are some the effects caused by deforestation. Recycling reduces the need for raw materials so that the rainforests can be preserved. Huge amounts of energy are used when making products from raw materials. Recycling requires much less energy and therefore helps to preserve natural resources.”
Recycling is important to our society and to us ourselves because being exposed to trash, wastes, and radiation for long periods of time can cause health problems. According to The Guides Network, here is how we can reduce the need for recycling, “Reduce financial expenditure in the economy. Making products from raw materials costs much more than if they were made from recycled products. Preserve natural resources for future generations. Recycling reduces the need for raw materials; it also uses less energy, therefore preserving natural resources for the future.
According to Jared Skye, landfills are growing with trash. This is due to less people recycling. According to Jared Skye, “According to the 2014 Factsheet published by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average person produces 4.4 pounds of waste, of which 2.3 pounds ends in landfills every single day (pg. 12 and 13).” This results in hundreds of millions of pounds of trash a day. Because of this massive increase of trash, it could lead to all different kinds of problems such as global warming and loss of property due to more landfills needing to be built.
To make people more aware of recycling, they need to know what items can be recycled and which items cannot. According to EcoScraps, any plastic or bottles can be recycled. Paper and cardboard items include cardboard boxes, phone books, magazines, paper, and newspapers. Metals that can be recycled are tin, aluminum, and steel cans. Glass food containers or jars and drink bottles can be recycled. Plastic shopping bags and plastic stretch wrap is recyclable. Polystyrene cups, containers, or egg cartons. Broken or sharp glass and plastic utensils can also be recycled.
According to King County, several items cannot be recycled. Wrapping paper or laminated paper, hardcover books, frozen food boxes, carbon paper, and binders cannot be recycled. Treated or contaminated wood is not recyclable. Food storage containers, dishware, vinyl, disposable diapers, toys, fiberglass, and foam materials cannot be recycled. Non–recyclable glass, such as window glass, mirrors, light bulbs, and cookware are not recyclable. These are several items that cannot be recycled.
People who are interested in recycling can follow five simple steps from Instructables.com to get started. First, people need to learn what they can and cannot recycle. There are many things you throw away each day that can be recycled. Next, people can contact their local or cities governments for recycling programs in their neighborhoods. Then, people should purchase 2-4 bins to use for recycling. Next, organize the bins and place them where they would be used the most. Finally, place the recycle bins out the curb on the specific pick-up day. If a community trash company does not provide recycling at your home, there are other places to take recycled items. Recycling can be dropped off at recycling drop off centers provided throughout counties. Certain schools and shopping centers also offer recycling dumpsters. There are many options for people who would like to recycle.
Very few people recycling is an extremely large problem in our society and is leading to many other problems not only affecting us, but our planet too. If we want to make our world a better place, we need to start by spreading the word that recycling is very important. Recycling preserves natural resources, reduces energy consumption, reduces pollution, lowers the amount of landfills needed, reduces littering, and raises awareness. All in all, recycling is a very important habit that everyone should do to help keep our planet alive and green.