Why We Should Recycle?

To answer this question correctly we should first understand just what recycling is. For several decades, people around the world have put a lot of emphasis on re-using items and taking material from used items to create new products. In essence, this is what recycling is – separating items that we have used in everyday life, gathering/collecting these items and then processing them into new products that we can use.

One wise fellow said that there is no “away” for us. Even when we think we are getting rid of newspapers, boxes, cans etc. we are simply putting them out of sight. We are still living with the things we throw “away.”

So, why should we recycle? There are a couple of basic reasons – to reduce the amount of new material we use, material that is made from natural resources available in limited amounts; to reduce the impact of general “trash” on the planet.

Contrary to some beliefs, we don’t have an unlimited supply of minerals, trees, water and so on from which to make things we use. It is a good idea to preserve these rare resources as much as possible by re-using items such as glass, cardboard, newspaper, tin, steel etc. Doing this extends the number of years that future generations can depend on having raw materials from the earth when they need them.

In addition, we should recycle because there is so much trash. Of course there is probably enough room on the planet for our trash to be buried. But we have to ask if continuing to bury our garbage and trash is a good idea. Many items we put in landfills can harm our water and the soil, two things we depend on for survival. Man of the items we bury will not degrade for centuries, if at all. Even when they do, the resulting mass is not suitable for sustaining life.

Some people believe that recycling on a large scale will actually slow down the trend of global warming. In some cases, making useful items from recycled material has less negative impact on the environment. For example, industrial production using new, raw material often puts large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Making new aluminum cans from raw aluminum produces much less carbon dioxide than using recycled cans.

We can conserve natural gas, oil and other fossil fuels by recycling. In some cases, using recycled materials significantly reduces the amount of these fuels used. It takes a lot more energy to produce new paper from scratch than it does to recycle used paper. The same goes for steel and many other products.

On a slightly different level, recycling contributes to the economy by providing jobs. Not only does large-scale recycling protect the soil and water as mentioned above, it can create new employment opportunities or replace some jobs lost when traditional industry closes down.

Almost everyone you talk to can give you at least two or three reasons why we should recycle.

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