What is recycling?
It is the process of using old or waste products into new products. Recycling is the process of making or manufacturing new products from a
product that has originally served its purpose. If these used products
are disposed of in an appropriate, environmentally friendly way, the
process of recycling has been set in motion.
What are the positive outcomes of recycling?
1. Protects Environment: The foremost benefit or recycling is that it helps in protecting the environment
in the most balanced manner. While many trees are cut down continually,
recycled paper made from certain trees is re-used repeatedly to
minimize felling/ deforestation. With re-cycled paper as an outstanding
example, a number of other natural resources can be reused this way.
2. Reduces Energy Consumption: A large amount of
energy is consumed by processing raw materials at the time of
manufacture. Recycling helps to minimize energy consumption, which is
crucial for massive production, such mining or refining. This also makes
the production process very cost-effective and beneficial for
manufacturers.
3. Reduces Pollution: Industrial waste today is the main source of all types of pollution.
Recycling of industrial products such as cans, chemical, plastics helps
to cut down pollution levels considerably, as these materials are
re-used, instead of throwing them away irresponsibly.
4: Reduces Global Warming: Recycling helps to alleviate global warming
and its ill effects. Massive waste is burned in heaps which produces
large amount of greenhouse gas emissions such as CO2 and CFC’s.
Recycling ensure that the burning process is minimized and any waste is
re-generated as a useful product with no or minimal harmful impact on
the environment. Recycling produces less greenhouse gases as industries
burn fewer fossil fuels for eco-friendly products.
5. Judicious and Sustainable use of Resources:
Recycling promotes judicial and sustainable use of resources. This
process ensures that there is no discriminate use of any material when
available in plenty in the present. Recycling
is encouraged at all levels, starting from school to corporate offices
and at international levels. This means we can preserve all precious
resources for our future generation, without any compromise in the
present.
6. Conserves Natural Resources: If old and used
materials are not recycled, the new products are made from extracting
fresh raw materials from beneath the earth through mining and
extraction. Recycling helps in conserving important raw materials and
protects natural habitats for the future. Conserving natural resources
such as wood, water and minerals ensures its optimum use.
7. Reduces Amount of Waste to Landfills: Recycling
old and waste products into new products reduces the amount of waste
that go to landfills. This helps in reducing water and land pollution
as landfills are a major source in contributing to destruction of
natural environment. Recycling programs keep 70 tons of waste from being
deposited into landfills every year.
8. Create Green Jobs: Recycling is good for the environment and apart from that it also creates green jobs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, green goods and services accounted for 3.1 million jobs in the United States by 2010.
