What are the environmental benefits of recycling and properly disposing of waste?
Being environmentally-conscious can be a hard habit to form, but there are many reasons why it’s important. Read on to discover why you should start recycling and following proper guidelines when it comes to disposing of waste.
Keeps The Chemicals Out of Landfills
Recycling and proper waste management keep harsh chemicals and products out of landfills, which prevents dangerous chemicals from leaking into the ground and groundwater. When harsh chemicals are leaked into the groundwater, they can be carried into the streams and rivers, which then carry them even further.
It’s no secret that many plastics are comprised of toxic chemicals that are harmful to humans and wildlife when introduced into local ecosystems. Recycling helps to keep plastics out of landfills and repurposes them for continued use.
A Safe Habitat For Wildlife
Proper waste disposal ensures that toxic chemicals don’t leach into groundwater and local soil. It also prevents wildlife from being potentially injured by dangerous waste items. In theory, recycling reduces the amount of waste that builds up in our landfills. But, recycling programs in the U.S. need to be strengthened to truly live up to this promise.
Less Mining Raw Material, Greenhouse Emissions, and Water Pollution
When items are recycled, they are able to be repurposed. When a recyclable item is simply thrown away, not only does it pollute the earth and the air, but it creates the need for more raw materials to be mined in order to create new products. Mining raw materials make a major environmental impact through greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution.
On top of helping protect and preserve our environment, recycling also benefits our domestic economy. Recycling the products already in the US to create new products, creates a lesser need to import raw materials from other countries. It also creates more jobs for our citizens and helps the local economies. Our country and our world benefit from recycling.
Todd Saunders
Todd Saunders, CEO of FlooringStores.
Reusing Materials Means Less Need for New Raw Materials
The real advantage of proper waste disposal is that it allows as much material as possible to be reused. Everything from tires to motor oil to concrete to paper to scrap metal to glass to plastic to wood can be reused or recycled for some applications. The issue is that traditional waste collection techniques just pile everything together in one place, leading to a nightmare when it comes to effectively sorting the trash to extract what can be reused. The more reuse and recycling are done, the less need there is for new raw materials.
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