The United States produces roughly 250 million tons of solid waste, or garbage, on an annual basis. This number equates to 4.4 pounds of solid waste created by every American on a daily basis (Miller, Meindl, & Caradine, 2016). The recycling rate in the U.S. is around 35%, meaning over 165 million tons of waste is placed in the nation’s landfills or incinerated each year (Mozo-Reyes, Jambeck, Reeves, & Johnsen, 2015). Landfilling recyclables contributes to a greater strain on global resources because materials that may have been reused must now be replaced (Miller, et.al. 2016). Landfilling waste also contributes to air pollution through the release of methane (Delkash, Zhou, and Singh, 2016) and poses threats to groundwater near landfills (Talalaj & Biedka, 2016). As the population of the nation (and the world) increases, strategies must be found to reuse resources rather than simply disposing of them.
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
Now some may wonder where recycling actually came from. Despite all its plus points, the concept of recycling has been battled around back and forth for generations. Purchasers have long been encouraged to reduce, reuse, and recycle, but the environmental awareness has come a long way. Recycling generally started when the first earth day occurred in 1970. America has produced a massive amount of trash each year but recycling programs have significantly reduced the amount of trash produced in landfills. “in 2013, the most recent year for which fissures were available, more than 34 percent of U.S waste was recycled material, with a 99 percent recycling rate, while streel cans have reached the 70.6 percent mark” (Lucy11). You can simply see the impact that this has on this country. This has gone nation wide and has impacted many around the United States .
One of the biggest reasons recycling should be taken so serious is because of its positive affect on the environment. Without recycling, so many goods that have potential to be repurposed are thrown into landfills. These landfills are piled up and affect the lives of countless wildlife. This quote by Allen Hershkowitz shows the enormity of the helpfulness of recycling. “Because using recycled materials reduces the need to extract, process, refine, and transport the timber, crude petroleum, ores, and so on that are necessary for virgin-based paper, plastics, glass, and metals, recycling lessens the toxic air emissions, effluents, and solid wastes that these manufacturing processes create” (Hershkowitz). Not having to put the weight of everyone’s trash trash on the world’s land and instead, repurposing it into something usable saves so many resources. Recycling not only leaves more room for things where the trash would have gone, but it also means that the people living here will get farther with the resources they have. The more that is taken from the earth the less there will be for those in the future, so saving and taking care of what is here is very important. The ones living in the world today are the people who are get to decide how the people of the generations to come are going to live. People should not want their kids living in a world of filth and pollution where no one cares about the world they are living on. An article by Omid Nodoushani discussed in depth the terrible amounts of pollution that is
Recycling and conservation are the solution to climate change and to saving energy. America sends a majority of its trash to landfills when it could be put to much better use by means of recycling or even by burning it to produce energy. Pollution is greatly reduced when recycling because the need to collect new raw materials goes down. Recycling is great because it can help people conserve this Earth for future generations who deserve to have a healthy Earth. Once the United Stated reaches recycling levels of 75%, it would be the equivalent of getting rid of fifty five million cars from the roads in the U.S. each year.
Recycling has been the environmental crusade to reducing the human footprint, with it’s spotlight shining down on in recent years. It was the noblest of causes, recycling being a great idea for the environment and society; but it is being handled poorly. Its modern descendant has turned into a corporate scheme with recycling becoming a business, instead of being about the environment because marketers are using environmentalism as a excuse for overconsumption, recycling products are only being recycled for profit, and cities & big business use inflated numbers to attain media attention. Let’s now take a look at the bread and butter of
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.
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
Recycling is one of the most common ways to keep America clean. The recycling bins are one of the most recognizable logos across the world. People all across the U.S. have recycling bins, inside of their household. The sad thing is most people do not use them, they most of the time just throw stuff in the regular trash that could be recycled. For example, plastic, paper, cans, glass, cardboard, and even computer hardware (www.recycleacrossamerica.org). People don’t realize that they could be doing the world a big favor, just by recycling these everyday items.
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
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
Water Pollution has been an increasing problem over the last few years. Pollution comes from many different things; agricultural, urban runoff, industrial, sedimentary, animal wastes, and leeching from landfills/septic systems just to name a few (Resources). The reason why pollution has increased over the years is because the rise in population and the advancements in technology the society has made. If society plans on having their resources here for many years to come they are going to have to make some drastic changes in the way they treat the earth, and these changes will have to start with their pollutants (Foundation).
A controversy issue in the United States is whether or not we should be involved in the controlling international pollution. Pollution is problem world-wide. Many would like to be involved in pollution while others would not. I believe that the United States should not be involved in the controlling of international pollution.
Ever since I was young, I’ve always wanted to change the world. I suppose I got this notion by watching superhero shows as a kid. However, unlike the heroes on television, I didn’t have any powers; therefore, I had to think of a new way to change the world. Thus, I came up with the idea of recycling. Annually, we dump over two billion tons of waste into landfills. The waste from these landfills contributes to environmental problems. Consequently, we can’t go a day without recycling, or we risk the chance of destroying the Earth through accumulation of pollution. Unfortunately, recycling is taken too lightly; that’s why I’ve made it my mission to inform my community of the necessity of recycling.
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