Climate change is happening and that is a fact. High end recycling technologies are improving every day, however, for there to be any real and impactful change it has to come for a united effort from everyone. There are many ways that you can start to reduce your carbon footprint and make your life much better in the long and short term. The big question that many people have is, will my recycling efforts have any impact at all?
The answer is of course, yes. You may only be one person, but by taking control of how you dispose of your waste you will be making a significant change over the course of your lifetime. Here are some great reasons why recycling matters and the positive impact it has one the world around us.
The natural resources that are used in manufacturing, energy production and many other industries are finite. That is to say that there is not an unlimited supply of them available. Recycling plastic means creating less of a demand for new plastic to be made. This puts a big strain on the environment as the by-products of plastic production harm the environment a great deal.
Ecosystems can often be harmed a great deal by many of the processes that take place on a day to day basis to produce materials that could just have easily been procured by recycling. Any form of recycling reduces the need to extract and manufacture materials from the earth. The amount of damage and disruption that is caused by manufacturing new materials is significant and can include forests being cut down, rivers diverted and soil becoming polluted.
People in some of the world's poorest parts of the world are being affected by large international companies that are causing them to have to relocate and start all over in a new are that does not have the natural resources that the large corporations are looking to exploit. By recycling, you are actively voting with your actions to reduce the demand for new materials and the abuse of these types of communities.
Using recycled materials cuts down on the energy needed to produce products. It is not even in the same ballpark either. Recycling can reduce the material production cost by up to 95% for metals and plastics.
Using less energy by opting for recycled products means that you will be helping to reduce the carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Carbon emissions are some of the most harmful for the environment and anything that we can do to reduce this can be of huge benefit to the world around us.
By recycling your waste, you will be helping to reduce the amount that you contribute to landfill. Landfill waste pollutes the soil and can over time release a lot of harmful greenhouse gases.
Burning rubbish is a very bad way of disposing of waste. Incinerating waste will generate carbon emissions, which contribute to climate change, as well as potential air pollution problems. In a very short time, this can be very harmful to the environment.
Many think that the process of collecting recycling is more expensive than simply gathering all waste together. It can be significantly cheaper to have the waste sorted and the recycling go to a sorting plant. Not only is this beneficial for the environment, but it can also create a lot of jobs.