What are the Benefits of Recycling?

Most Americans believe in the importance of recycling. But, out of the 37.4 million tons of materials that could be picked up by curbside recycling, 20 million tons of it are thrown in the trash. There are many benefits of recycling — both for your community and for the environment. They go far beyond the fact that the amount of trash we throw out gets reduced. It takes time and effort to collect, separate, and send off all that trash. But, there are many reasons why recycling can make the world a better and happier place.

Why Recycling is Important

Here are some of the benefits of recycling:

• It protects the environment — Manufacturing new products from raw materials requires some kind of extraction process (whether it’s from mining, quarrying, or logging). It also requires the raw materials to be refined and processed. All of this can create a great deal of air and water pollution. Recycling reduces the need for all of these processes, because manufacturers don’t have to spend as much time looking for new materials. They can reuse old products to manufacture new ones, which not only saves energy, but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
• It reduces pollution — Water, air, and land pollution has been a worldwide hazard that has led to industrial waste (such as chemicals, plastics, and cans). Recycling these materials can help to reduce all types of pollution. So instead of recklessly throwing away your waste, you should think about recycling it because it could be used elsewhere.
• It’s friendly to the environment — Trees play an important role in keeping this world alive, but more trees are being cut down to make paper. Recycling paper can minimize the need to cut down trees, which can help to preserve the environment. In fact, many paper manufacturers recycle these products to reduce the amount of deforestation and preserve the environment as a whole.
• It’s critical for protecting ecosystems and wildlife — Waste can affect animals and even humans (largely because of the food chain). It can also result in the loss of natural habitats and contribute to a variety of environmental issues. Once these habitats are destroyed, the life existing in these ecosystems can die off or starve.
• It reduces the size of landfills — One of the reasons why recycling has been so heavily promoted is because it reduces the strain on the environment. By using waste in a constructive manner, we can reduce the size of our landfills. As the global population continues to grow, it will become harder for landfills to hold all that trash. Once this happens, our cities and landscapes will be affected by pollution, poising, and all kinds of health problems.
• It conserves natural resources — Scrap cars, old bottles, junk mail, and used rubber tires are often thrown in landfills. But, the resources needed to make these products are getting depleted. Recycling allows manufacturers to use these junk items to make new products, so they don’t have to gather more natural resources.
• It creates more employment opportunities — After you sort and deposit your waste, it has to be sorted and shipped off to the right places. This is done by thousands of workers who are newly employed in a growing industry. One of the major benefits of recycling is that it creates more jobs within the community, which can make the entire process more stable. Throwing your trash away can create six or seven more jobs at best, but recycling can create almost 30 new jobs.

If you’re looking for a place where you can learn more about recycling in Corpus Christi, be sure to get in touch with Dawson Recycling and Disposal.