There are many compelling reasons to recycle, for instance, recycling saves energy, benefits the economy, conserves resources, and is better for wildlife yet the majority of Americans do not recycle. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, only thirty eight percent of Americans profess to be “avid recyclers.” This is an alarming statistic given that the average American generates 4.4 pounds of trash a day. As a nation this country produces approximately 250 million tons of trash every year. Only thirty five percent of the millions of tons of trash collected annually in the United States is recycled. There are a myriad of reasons given by those who do not recycle. For example, some Americans consider recycling inconvenient, others cite lack of space to recycle while some claim recycling is difficult. Perhaps an inducement would entice more people to be ecologically responsible. Often people are spurred to action if there is enough incentive to act. There should be a financial incentive for people to recycle which would increase the number of citizens who recycle and decrease the amount of recyclable items in the landfill.
To re-purpose an item takes less energy than to make a new item using raw materials, in addition, recycling is good for the economy. When aluminum cans are recycled it takes ninety five percent less energy than it does to make a new can from the original source of bauxite. If just one ton of aluminum is recycled more than 207 million pounds of Btu are saved. That is comparable to 1,665 gallons of gas or 36 barrels of crude oil. When new products are made, energy is used to gather the materials and to produce the product. Recycling saves the energy used to extract the material and generally requires les...
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...recognized energy star item like a geothermal heat pump they also receive a federal tax credit. In addition, companies like Whole Foods grocery stores offer a credit of twenty five cents per bag if a costumer brings in their own bags. CVS has a similar program, offering its customers one dollar for every four times they do not require a bag for their purchase. These programs encourage the consumer to make a sound environmental choice and rewards them when they do. The same could be accomplished with recycling. Since money is a persuasive motivator for a large percentage of people, offering a financial incentive to recycle would increase the level of participation in recycling programs which would be beneficial for the environment and good for the economy. Using financial incentives as an inducement for recycling benefits not only the consumer but the planet as well.
Barlaz says, “Recycling still causes some emissions” (62). However recycling starts at home with the consumer. When people go out to buy groceries, clothes, food or any other things they should think about the purchases before they buy them. Consumers buy groceries but they chose to use plastic or paper bags. Instead of using those they could use reusable cloth bags. Some people would rather use the plastic or paper bags. If they do then they should recycle those bags instead of just throwing them away in the garbage and hoping they get in the recycling area. Recycling cans and glass jars saves energy needed to make new ones. People can save energy by recycling other things like paper and plastic. Humes says, “Recycling aluminum cans saves ninety-six percent of the energy needed to produce aluminum from bauxite ore” (260). Also, “recycling the glass jars and bottles saves twenty-one percent of the energy needed to make new glass” (260). So if everyone could start recycling their cans, glass, paper and plastic that would save us a lot of energy that would need to be used to make new ones. If we can start recycling at home that will make things much easier on the waste management plants and our world. If people don’t want to recycle at their homes and separate everything they can just put all their trash in the can and it will eventually be separated and recycled. As people become more educated about
The words ‘Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle’ are what a person chants if someone mentions the word recycling. Nicks J defines recycling as ‘[T]he processing of waste materials in order to make them reusable” (11). Individuals who recycle are not just throwing papers in green bins, or cans in blue; in fact, they are helping the environment more than they can imagine. People who want to preserve and protect their planet take the initiative to recycle waste materials. Rather than throwing away old plastic or glass bottles, aluminum cans, and certain types of paper, one can simply recycle them, and they will go through a cleaning and the remanufacturing process to be remade into a new usable item.
Let 's take a look at the points from the article 10 ways recycling hurts the environment, by Andrew Handley. The number one point is that recycling gives false promises, but how? Andrew Handley says, “The biggest reason recycling hurts the environment doesn’t have anything to do with the technical process—it’s the mindset it gives people. Recycling’s main impact is to convince us that it’s okay to be wasteful in other areas, because we make up for it through recycling. It encourages consumption, rather than pointing out ways to reduce consumption overall.” Honestly, the biggest reason people don 't recycle is because they are plain lazy, there is no way to sugar-coat that. People don 't want to take the extra 10 seconds it would take to get another bag for the cans or bottles. They just don 't care.
Recycling is the practice of reusing old products to create knew ones in order to essentially “re use” them. In theory, this process is supposed to work perfectly, but because of other factors it doesn’t. The whole idea of recycling is supposed to lead, eventually, to a world where everything will be recycled and used over and over again; thus, no more mining, cutting down tress, and other jobs that require people to do some sort of labor in order to create a certain type of object. The process of recycling would in due time, end these types of labor. Recycling is not entirely a good thing because not everyone does, it requires unnecessary funds, and it takes away many jobs.
If everyone recycled then there would be less need for new materials to be made out of unused resources; instead they would be made with recycled materials. Recycling saves a lot of natural resources because every time you turn something into the recycling center part of that is reused on a future product. In fact I read once, that each aluminum can that is recycled, a quarter of that is used on a new can. That twenty-five percent can add up in the long run. When people don't recycle that plastic bottle, aluminum can, or glass bottle that is in their trash can it is only used once and then is sent to a landfill just to take up space.
Some people say recycling is a waste of time. If one is a very busy person, then maybe. But taking that extra two seconds to recycle, saving energy, money, resources, and the world isn’t a bad plan either. If everyone would take the extra two seconds to recycle, the extra effort would help to make the world would be a much cleaner and more efficient place. Recycling could also help to lower taxes in the long run. Recycled materials have value, and trash costs money. A city recycling program could sell it and make money. Then, with the extra money, the city wouldn’t have to charge as much money on taxes. Now how does those two extra seconds sound now? One can better the place they live in and save some money by taking two extra seconds to recycle.
Many people believe that we should not recycle anymore, but this is not the case. We, the people of the world, need to continue to recycle because we do not want our children to grow up in a world where there are no certain species of animals due to recycling failures. We also do not want our children to grow up thinking that it is okay that they throw their garbage on the ground, and not have to pick it up. We need to teach our children that they need to take care of the earth that they are living on, because they only get one. Recycling is one of the most beneficial environmental issues that we have here on this earth. Recycling saves energy, limits pollution and supports several environmental factors of the economy. “In 2003, the savings from recycling 54 billion aluminum cans exceeded the energy equivalent of 15 million barrels of crude oil- or the amount of gas the U.S. uses in one day,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA estimates that 200 million gallons of used oil are not disposed of properly, and if we were to dispose the oil properly then we could keep the oil from polluting the ground and the fresh water source. According to E. Takatori, “… While on-going societal regulation treats material recycling as the dominant cycle, the properties of recycled plastic remain the most port
Lots of recycled products are less expensive than brand new ones. Buying cans, bottles, paper, and some clothing items made from recycled goods are all potential ways to save you money. People can use their recycled items. People can use their recycled paper to make pencil which saves money. When people make paper it cost $25,000 dollars a month. If people use recycled paper, then it won't even cost about $100. The benefit in cost per can in terms of savings is so low that it's quite insignificant. On another level, the savings in terms of energy required in making a new can from scratch as compared to making it from an existing can is tremendous. The cost of aluminum would be high if people did not recycle it. Metals like copper, iron, and steel can also be recycled. Scrap bits of metal can be brought to a scrap dealer who will pay cash for the metal. Automobile manufacturers get good money for scrap metal too. Some people think that recycling is a great way to save
Our world is getting to the point to where we will be surrounded by trash. There are hazards happening because of the excess trash, which could have been recycled. Although the government is not doing their best to make these hazards stop, surprisingly it is the non-governed organizations that are trying to make the difference. Proven studies and facts have been made about these issues, so people should take this into consideration and start recycling more. Recycling is a beneficial process that is not required globally like it should be because citizens are uneducated on the process and what it can do. People who are not recycling do not know the hazards they are causing everywhere.
Most importantly, it saves lives. We should all learn the importance of recycling. For example, some sea lions won?t get stuck in plastics if we recycle. We would also breathe better air. We can recycle and aluminum can and put it back on the shelf for something useful. If we just leave it in the landfill, it?ll decompose and it?ll be of no use. It?ll also reduce pollution or else it?ll make a new one.
There are many people in the United States today that are unemployed due to our economy. Therefore, recycling could create jobs for those people. Recycling is a complex process that needs multiple workers. First, the plastics and other recyclable items have to be collected. Next, the plastics have to be separated into categories. This might seem simple but it is a three step process. The first separation is made directly by the codes on the plastic. The second separation makes smaller categories of like plastic materials. The third separation is made by determining certain properties of the plastics that are comparable. The categories are then shredded, sanitized, and then melted down. Finally, the factories then mold the plastic into direct items or palletize them for use in the future (Manrich, 9). The recycling companies could make their money by making deals with major corporations. For example, they could collaborate with Pepsi by creating their plastic soda bottles. The recycling companies would be able to sell and create these bottles for cheap since they do not have to pay for the materials to make them. Also, they use less oil than a plastic production factory would use. Thus, it is a cheaper way to create new plastic items. Therefore, there are endless possibilities that allow the recycling business to
Recycling is of great importance, and its importance is economic and environmental. It preserves natural resources, reduces depletion, reduces the amount of waste, reduces its growth, conserves the environment, cleanses it of some harmful waste, reduces unemployment and creates opportunities. New work.
People should know the negative impact throwing away a water bottle or newspaper, purchasing meat from the grocery store or consuming gasoline has on the environment, and many do not. By informing society about how their decisions affect the environment, we can help save our planet and change our attitude toward the land we live on, the water we drink and the air we breathe” and truly show respect for the stuff that we depend on. The United States produces “about 8.25 billion tons of solid waste each year” (Russell 1). People do not realize the impact they have on our planet and the environment. When people throw anything in the trashcan, they are contributing to the destruction of our planet.
Therefore, recycling can protect natural resources, preserve energy and lessen pollution. If people want to save planet Earth for generations to come, then recycling is necessary. On Debate.org, the question “Should there be mandatory recycling?” was asked and 84 percent said yes, while only 16 percent said no (“Should There Be Mandatory Recycling”). Recycling is very important to the planet and can make a huge difference in so many ways. Recycling is a way of life and once a person has made the choice to follow through with the steps, recycling can become second nature. Every small contribution adds up to how the society shapes the Earth’s future. How will someone make a difference?
There are also several long term benefits of recycling. For example, “collecting and processing secondary materials, manufacturing recy...