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Waste Management 2022: Keep Recycling!

Why Recycling is Good for the Environment

Waste Management 2022. Why is recycling good for the environment? Is recycling a waste of time? Is recycling a sham? I’ve heard recycling doesn’t work.

Why is recycling good for the environment? 

With today’s world population growth rate, it seems almost impossible to see how recycling and reusing reduce pollution. There is just so much waste! The truth is, despite a loss of confidence in the act, what recycling means for our environment is monumental. Everything that is tossed into the trash ends up in landfills that are already overfilled. With bigger landfills, comes more landfill gas released into our shared atmosphere. Why recycle? For one thing, it lowers the amount of landfill gas in our atmosphere, thereby protecting vulnerable natural habitats as well as the air we breathe.

How recycling saves energy.

The Aluminum Association found that the energy being saved by recycling one aluminum can, as opposed to making a new can from raw materials, can power a TV for approximately 3 hours. That sounds great, but what about the energy it takes to recycle? Don’t we need to consider that, too? Well, recycling plastic containers requires only 1/10 of the energy needed to make new plastic from raw materials. Energy Administration Information found that 1 ton of paper recycled could save about 17 trees, a renewable resource, and that recycled paper only requires about 1/2 the water needed to produce new paper from virgin wood. Recycling is energy efficient.

How do I find recycling resources and recycling rules?

It turns out recycling can have a big impact on our futures… but where do I start? So many different materials can be recycled. Metals, paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, batteries, lightbulbs, and much more. What’s important to know is where recycling goes. Here is a helpful guide for recycling materials and recycling symbols when it comes to waste management 2022:

waste management 2022

A few extra recycling rules.

Whether you’re recycling to save the ocean, recycling to reduce your carbon footprint, or just generally, recycling to help the environment, here’s what to do.

*Clean your materials. One contaminated item can contaminate a whole batch, forcing the facility to throw the batch into a landfill.

*Make your process easy. For example, placing an extra recycling bin in your bathroom will remind you not to throw toiletries like shampoo containers, toilet rolls, and pill bottles into the trash to go to landfill.

*Forego buying what can’t be recycled. Plastic straws and styrofoam are all too available, and all too harmful to our environment because they can’t be recycled. Invest in metal reusable straws and reusable food containers instead.

Keep recycling!

Without recycling we wouldn’t be able to conserve our natural resources. This is why recycling should be mandatory. We need to act ensure a sustainable future on this earth, and today is the day we stop our accumulating landfills. So to answer the question, “Is recycling a waste of time?” A resounding no. We have to start recycling to save the planet. That’s what’s at stake.

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