How many people in the United States recycle and what is considered recycling? Unfortunately, the percentage is low and not enough people in today’s society recycles, while recycling is defined as “to make something new from (something that has been used before)” (Merriam-Webster). With the percentages of recycling being low makes you wonder what is wrong with the people in today’s society. If you ask the people why they don’t recycle, they will give you plenty of excuses. “It doesn’t help in any way,” “I don’t have time,” and/or “It doesn’t benefit my lifestyle.” But, with all of these excuses, does it still give the people the justification not to recycle? Recycling has and will give immediate and long-term effects on our planet, which in the long run is what we want for the future. Recycling should be looked …show more content…
Landfills are mostly composed of non-biodegradable waste which takes a long time to decompose. Recycling old and waste products into new products will reduce the amount of waste that enters landfills across the nation. Doing so helps in reducing water and land pollution as landfills are a major source in contributing to destruction of natural environment. Recycling programs keeps enormous amounts of waste from being deposited into landfills every year allowing for unused land to be preserved for other uses rather than another waste site. Also, if we don’t recycle, more and more garbage will enter the landfills until they are all used up. When that happens, where will the new waste be placed and would you like to have a landfill as a backyard? According to the Bear Spring Blossom (BSB), “Landfills are a ticking time bombs-producing unknown gases and chemicals” (“Recycling”). Also, it goes on to state, “Recycling helps to reduce landfill space and disposal costs” (“Recycling”). Even though reducing the size of landfills is a notable benefit, there are other things that benefit from
Recycling saves a lot of energy and prevents pollution. It even creates jobs. In an EPA 2016 report, recycling accounted for over 700,000 jobs! On the other side of the
Landfills are filling up with more and more trash every day and are expanding. Just by separating our trash everyday into plastics, cardboard/paper, cans, etc., we can minimize what we put in the landfills. Even if recycling was mandatory, I think this would help a lot. I spent some time in Germany and was able to participate in recycling more in depth. They recycle almost everything and have strict trash rules. Food that was not consumed goes in one small bin and cans, boxes, paper, etc., were sorted into separate bins as well. If you had something that was not in the proper bin or if your trash bag had something that could be recycled they do not take the trash that day. Some of the food that was not consumed was buried, the cardboard/paper, etc., was sent out to be recycled and reused. All of this helps keep Germany green and clean. Maybe we should follow in Germany’s footsteps to help keep our landfills clean of items that can be recycled and used again. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, in 2006, only 32% of the trash that was picked up was recycled in the United States. This leaves 68% of trash that is still going to the landfills and not being recycled. Although this recycling average is low, The Environmental Protection Agency hoped by 2019 the recycle percentage would reach 75%. The amount of trash that one person generates is astonishing. According to the EPA from Green Waste, in a single day 4.5 pounds is thrown out, which is about 1.5 tons of solid waste a year per person. The EPA estimates that 75% of solid waste is recyclable, but 30% is actually being
Many people say that recycling is a waste of time or that they just don't have the time.”Yes it’s popular in affluent neighborhoods like Park Slope in Brooklyn and in cities like San Francisco, but residents of Bryon and Houston don't have the same fervor for sorting garbage in their spare time’(“The Reign of Recycling”). The world needs more people to recycle no matter where they live. It seems that even if more people have started recycling things have not changed much.”While it’s true that the recycling message has reached more people than ever, when it come down to the bottom line,both economically and environmentally, not much has changed at all”(“The Reign of Recycling”). People need to work harder to make a change that will account to something. The goals are being set higher and higher but with little success. ”While politicians set higher and higher goals, the national rate of recycling has stagnated in recent years”(“The Reign of Recycling”). This rate has ceased to flow. If something changes how people feel about recycling then the nation may be able to meet its
Recycling is the process of making new products from a product that has originally served its purpose. The process of recycling starts when used products are disposed in an appropriate, environmentally friendly way. Items made from materials such as paper, tin cans, aluminum cans, plastic water bottles, and glass, which people use in everyday life, can be separated from regular trash and put in an appropriate recycling bin. The United States now realizes the importance of recycling. However, many ignorant people still think separating recyclables requires too much work. Requiring mandatory recycling would prod these individuals into action. Lack of recycling leads to dramatic consequences such as polluting the environment and raising the number of landfills. Delay is critical; time plays a significant role in waste management. The sooner American communities recycle properly the better it will be for the environment and our surroundings. People need to become conscious and take responsibility as a society to protect the earth, keep it clean and beautiful, and preserve the natural resources. The United States can achieve this goal by implementing mandatory recycling.
A reason that recycling should not be apart of everyday american society is that over the years it has been costly and it has been causing more pollution by sending trucks to collect the recycling then the recycling process itself. Data shows
America currently has a growing population of over 300 million people. Every day the average American produced 4.4 pounds of garbage. As a nation Americans produced over 200 million tons of waste in 2013. Only 34.4 percent of that waste was recovered. Over 65 percent of that garbage is left to rot and pollute the environment. Many other countries face the same epidemic. There are many ways Americans can reduce pollution and keep our planet cleaner, one for those ways for instance is recycling. Recycling defined is to treat or process used or waste materials, to make suitable for reuse. The process starts by knowing what to recycle and how. Understanding the effects and benefits of reprocessing can persuade people to make
Why are people not recycling that should be? Well lets see, first of all the easiest of all, people are simply just not doing it! Places like New Jersey have goals that they always try to reach with monthly and or yearly recycling. Currently places like New Jersey are not reaching their goals. There are many things that places like New Jersey an do like we could put to place a law. That law would make you recycle, and if you dont then you would get fined an amount of money. Second of all, If New Jersey gets creative we could have local dispensers that we could put recycling items in and then the recycling trucks could go there! If we actually put local dispensers, then our local neighborhood and or city can work together and fix this and
Looking down the street you live on, do you notice something lacking? Well, for most of America this seems to ring true. Recycling is a process that is very important for the environment, yet much of the country still does not have mandatory recycling or, at the least, an easier way to recycle. No, most perfectly recyclable materials are sent straight to the landfill. Why exactly is this, anyway? Is it the government’s fault, or the people’s?
Do you know that many americans do not know how important recycling is? In the article “Importance of Recycling” by Rinkesh he says, “Recycling is important in today’s world if we want to leave this planet for our future generations.” This statement explains how many americans do not know how important recycling is to keep this planet and many more generations going. Many people do not know the different ways recycling helps out our enviroment. Personally, recycling is important for the environment, which is why I decide participate in it and recycle at home. I like to recycle cans and bottles. In my opinion, there are many factors as to why the environment needs recycling, but to shorten the process I came up with three major needs as to why
Americans have yet to face the unnerving reality of the fact that “in 2008 only 7.1% of the 30.05 million tons of plastic waste in America was recycled” (Linn). This low percentage is shocking, outrageous, and should terrify the American public, but this number can change. Recycling is not just a feel good experience; it is a way to help save energy, space, and money. However, with the enormous amount of trash being thrown out each year, landfills are increasing in size creating numerous issues. The staggering amount of waste increases greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming and building up dangerous toxins that sink underground into our soil and water, overflows into wildlife habitats and oceans, and costs a large amount of money to remove. By fining residents who incorrectly dispose of recyclable goods, implementing recycling as a requirement in educational institutions and other business and residential settings, categorizing the
I recycle everything that I can recycle in my area, compost and waste that I can compost, and do not replace products until necessary. I believe that I produce much less solid waste than the average U.S. citizen but there is more that I can do. Some research suggests that in the U.S. recycling has become a normal routine behavior and that just because a person recycles does not mean that they are environmentally friendly consumers (Ebreo 1999). When looking at this from the solid waste management aspect, a large proportion of people are recycling but are not seeking out items with less packaging and other ways to reduce solid
People Need to Recycle In the United Sates, where the population is inflated every year. The amount of space for landfills decreases every day. The need for recycling should not be asked, it should just be done out of habit. Everyone in America needs to recycle, to help the lamdfill problem, help the environment, and help produce new products from recycled goods. In America there is about two-hundred and eight tons of residential and commercial trash generated a year, 4.3 pounds per person a day (Prichard 1A). This is an overwhelming amount of trashed produced yearly. When people recycle this number can be drastically cut. But many people do not practice and use
“Why should I even recycle?”, is far too common of a statement is the 21st century. As a culture we have industrialized our lives, and with this industrialization we have created a lot of waste. During the 20th century, people were too excited about the innovation of paper plates and plastic utensils that they did not stop to think, “I wonder if this is okay for our environment?” Well, after years of society promoting convenience instead of sustainability, we have produced a mass amount of waste. The amount of trash produced in the world yearly has been tripled since 1960. I think some people forget that matter can not be created nor destroyed, and a styrofoam cup can take millions of years to decompose. Humans of our modern society throw their garbage away as if it disappears once it hits the can. Yet, that is not the case at all. Trash is merely relocated to be rejoined with more trash. These massive piles of waste sit at dumps for years hardly beginning to decompose because of the environment they are immersed in. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an ocean gyre containing vast amounts of debris, and it is estimated to be the size of the continental U.S.. Americans produce trash at about 4.6 pounds a day per person. Some recycling is picked out from landfills, but most is left to be dealt with by other processes. Trash that is not recycled, composted, or burned is buried in landfills. The process of decomposition of trash in landfills takes hundreds of years to complete.
To begin, recycling helps minimize pollution. Go outside, can you see the stars? If not, it’s because of pollution. A major contributor to air pollution is the burning of waste that is sent to landfills. In fact, if recycling levels increase to 75% in the United States, it will have the same effect on carbon dioxide levels as if 55 million cars were removed from U.S. roads every year (Recycle). Recycling helps to reduce waste sent to incinerators, and thus reduces air pollution. Even through the processing of recycled items, pollution is lessened. For instance, studies show that "recycled paper produces approximately 70% less air pollution than if it was made from raw materials" ("Forty"). Air pollution both harms the earth and the people on it by contributing to global warming as well as respiratory diseases. That’s why every time people reduce waste, reuse, and recycle their garbage, they save the earth and even millions of lives from the harmful effects of pollution. Overall, requiring recycling will allow pollution rates to plummet and the environmental state of the earth to improve.
Save The Planet, Make Money And Teach Your Kids Valuable Lessons: Make Scrap Metal Recycling A Family Affair