Author: Jiayi Chen
Editors: Liane Xu
Artists: Nicole Tseng
Recycling is the process of converting waste into useful products, benefiting the community and environment. Recycling is encouraged by many people around the world, so what makes recycling so important?
First of all, recycling is extremely important for our future. Some of the non-renewable natural resources on Earth are limited, and once we waste these resources, we have to find something else as an alternative or risk abandoning everything associated with that resource. To prevent these types of situations, recycling is the best solution. By using more resources that can be reused again in the future, we can help save the nonrenewable resources. Recyclable materials are not limited to things like Metal, Glass, Plastic, Paper, and Cartons. Natural resources like water and trees were also considered recyclable. Moreover, an increasing amount of land around the world is being used for waste material storage. If humans don't take recycling seriously, one day the Earth is going to be filled with wastes, and humans will have no living spaces.
Another benefit of recycling is that it helps maintain our environment. Since global warming is associated with the release of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, recycling these gases will help halt the climate crisis. Recycling also decreases air pollution, which is associated closely with human health. Recycling means less wastes will have to be burned, decreasing the amount of harmful gasses released into our atmosphere. It also means less rotting waste in our landfills, which decreases the spread of disease in residential areas since rotting wastes. Perhaps one of the most important side effects of producing less waste is that there will be less garbage littered on our lands and oceans. Thus, recycling leads to a cleaner, healthier environment for not just humans, but for every species we share this planet with.
Recycling also positively contributes to the economy by creating jobs and business. People can recycle unwanted wastes to get items at cheaper prices and in large quantities. According to research, the recycling of every 10 thousand tons of wastes can create 36 jobs, and the National Recycling Coalition reported recycling had created millions of jobs and billions of annual sales.
Subsequently, recycling is a necessary process for our communities, and it has multiple beneficial aspects that are worth working toward. If all people put in a bit of effort for recycling, our communities on Earth will thrive.
Citations:
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Earthsquad, 5 Nov. 2018, www.earthsquad.global/health-benefits-of-recycling/.
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Management Company, 29 July 2020, www.norcalcompactors.net/human-health-
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EPA, EPA. “Recycling Basics.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 12 Nov. 2020,
www.epa.gov/recycle/recycling-basics.
Health Department, National institution of health. “Benefits of Recycling.” National Institutes
of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2019,
nems.nih.gov/environmental-programs/Pages/Benefits-of-Recycling.aspx.