Recycling can be described as the act of processing used or abandoned materials for use in creating new products. It can also be said as a process of taking a product or materials at the end of its useful life span and turning it into a usable raw material in order to make another product.
There are many waste materials that can be reprocessed and recycled into another useful materials such as; manufacturing of papers, plastics, glass, metal etc. these recycle materials requires less energy than manufacturing these products from the scratch because the recycle materials would have already been processed . Take manufacturing of paper for instance, Research shows that for every tons of recycled paper saves at least 17 trees and we all know the importance of trees in the ecological cycle, trees help to combat the global climate changes by absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in a process called carbon sequestration, which in turn aids a conducive atmospheric conditions for man; imagine the entire junk paper document we received or used daily that mostly ends up in our trash bin. Using recycled products would reduce the amount of materials that ends up in the landfills, which most times pollute our environment and leave our community to toxic waste that could be harmful to health.
These wastes tend to decompose and cause the release of methane gas. Methane gas is a greenhouse gas that is 20 to 30 times more dangerous to the environment than carbon dioxide. Landfills are the main cause of the emission of methane gas into the atmosphere in which excessive exposure to methane may affect the brain.
Benefits of recycling:
- Well-run recycling programs cost less to operate than waste collection, landfilling, and incineration.
- The more people recycle some materials, the cheaper those materials get.
- Efficient recycling system saves the city financially
- Recycling helps families save money, especially in communities with pay-as-you-throw programs.
- Well-designed programs save money. Communities have many options available to make their programs more cost-effective, including maximizing their recycling rates, implementing pay-as-you-throw programs, and including incentives in waste management contracts that encourage disposal companies to recycle more and dispose of less.
- Public sector investment in local recycling programs pays great dividends by creating private sector jobs. For every job collecting recyclables, there are 26 jobs in processing the materials and manufacturing them into new products.
- Recycling creates four jobs for every one job created in the waste management and disposal industries.
- Thousands of companies in foreign countries would save millions of dollars through their voluntary recycling programs. They wouldn't recycle if it didn't make economic sense.
|
