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Importance
of Recycling
Recycling is important in sustaining the health of the environment,
wildlife, and people. Here
are some reasons why recycling is a great pattern for life:
1. Conserves Natural Resources- We are reducing the amount of
natural resources that we need by utilizing recycled material in making
new products.
2. Saves Energy- Generally, it is less energy intensive to
make products with recycled content instead of using virgin
material. For example, it
requires 95% less energy to create aluminum cans from recycled aluminum
than making cans from virgin ore.
3. Reduces Air and Water Pollution- Less air and water
pollutants are emitted into the environment when making products with
recycled content instead of with virgin material. Garbage at landfills
gives off methane, a very potent greenhouse gas. Less methane gas will be
emitted into the air if we recycle and send less to the landfills. Also, most landfills produce some
sort of leakage that can enter our waterways and disturb aquatic life and
degrade water quality. Less
garbage can result into less water pollution.
4. Prolongs Life of Landfills- When we recycle, we are
conserving landfill space. This is important given that if it takes us
longer to fill up a landfill then it will significantly delay the need
for developing a new landfill, which would destroy natural habitats and
create a new pit in the earth for our garbage.
5. Protects Wildlife and Biodiversity- By recycling and
thereby conserving resources, we are decreasing the number of trips we
have to make to destroy natural habitat. This reduction allows more habitats to be saved and
biodiversity of plants and animals alike will be able to prosper as
well.
6. Teaches Kids about Responsible Living- Making recycling a pattern
for life shows our kids that we are responsible in handling our waste in
an environmentally friendly way.
Recycling teaches our youth that we should take responsibility for
human waste and try to find ways to utilize used products in different
ways.
7. Helps Us to Become More Sustainable- Sustainability is
defined as meeting the needs of today’s society without harming the
quality of life for future generations. In general, our society isn’t very sustainable in the
present state. We are
producing increasingly more waste, which creates a wide variety of
problems not only for the current population but also for future
generations. Recycling is a
tool to bring us closer to the goal of sustainability because recycling
enables us to find a purpose for things that would normally be thrown
away. Through recycling, we
are reducing our environmental impact by saving natural resources,
reducing air and water pollution, aiding the prosperity of plants and
animals, and eliminating the burden of our waste on future generations.
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