Did you know that the largest landfill in the world is in New York City, United States? The Fresh Kills Landfill covered 2,200 acres in the New York City borough of Staten Island. It was temporarily opened, but then it became the largest landfill in the world and the largest man-made structure. Many have proposed the idea of burning the landfill, however, that will not make it better, and in fact it will make it worse. Not only are we infecting the ground water and the soil, rather we are infecting the air we breathe. As responsible global citizens, the residents of this planet, Earth, need to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste not only to save the future generations but also to save the future environment and all of the living creatures inhabit it.
Recycling has many benefits, some examples are: it saves money in production and energy cost, it helps save the environment from extraction and processing materials and it means less trash needs to be disposed. “Recyclable material from garbage will extend the life of the county’s landfill, keeping the county's landfill rates down" (Chris 1). A landfill costs $20 million or more to build and it takes millions to operate. And where does the money come from? It comes from local tax payers. If we reduced the amount of trash that is being thrown, then landfills trash will be reduced and that would save county economic problems. There are a lot of recyclable things we just toss in the trash and then it ends up in a landfill. For instance a plastic straw, plastic cup, bags, and napkins all are recyclable materials that end up in a land fill and it is becoming a threat to wildlife. Even drinking water is jeopardized because of the trash that ends up in the ocean or rivers. The Great Pacific ...
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Industrial Materials That Can Be Recycled." The Environment: A Revolution in Attitudes. Kim Masters Evans. 2008 Ed. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Information Plus Reference Series. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 3 Oct. 2013.
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I am not a big earth first person but I do believe in recycling because I work at a local recycling center and I think recycling is a good thing. In fact I think everyone should recycle to make the earth a better place as a whole. A few good reasons why recycling is a good this is, the more people recycle, the less room is filled in landfills. Also, when people recycle they are reusing materials, therefore saving resources. Another good reason is that when you recycle often times you get paid back the C.R.V. that you already paid for in the grocery store.
You know when you’re walking down the street, drinking your bottled soft drink or water; as you go to throw the bottle away in the trash, have you notice how many of the items in the trash are recyclable. Current reports show that about 80% of the trash that is thrown away is recyclable. Recycling is the third “R” of the three “R’s”: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Recycling is defined as taking a product or material at the end of its useful life, and turning it into a usable raw material to create another product. According to Ivanhoe Broadcast News, each year the average American family throws out 2,460 pounds of paper, 540 pounds of metals, 480 pounds of glass and 480 pounds of food scraps. In conclusion the average American throws away more than 1,200 pounds of trash per year, far more than people in most other countries. I personally think that it is ridiculous how unaware and careless people are that they can’t throw an item into a different container, so it can be recycled. To a certain extent it is not just the publics’ fault; I personally believe that the government should set up and take control of the situation. Instead of sitting around as the world becomes more polluted. I believe there are many ways that we can improve this system.
People need to think about the objects that they throw away, those items can affect the animals around the world. For example, when people throw away the plastic rings that go around pop cans, can kill animals by being stuck around their little necks. So, before people throw those plastic rings out, they need to make sure that they cut a slit into each ring so in case an animal does get stuck in one of them, then they can get out safely. Recycling does not just have to be about plastic, but when the plastic is recycled, Americans can use it for many different things. For example, the plastic can make park benches, plastic crates, and wire tubing. Many people do not understand where all of the recycled objects go, but the objects do not go anywhere they are just recycled to make other things, recycled objects also help reduce the price of the objects that they make. The best part about recycling is the fact that people can recycle almost anything and turn it into something completely different. For example, Keen’s Harvest makes bags, wallets, and totes from recycled airbags that come from automobiles. Another example is Looptworks uses cotton jersey, nylon, vinyl, and recycled polyester to make their upcycled leather iPad cases. Skateback is another company that uses recycled material to make iPhone backs; they use the discarded post-industrial skateboard materials. Vinylux
One reason is that recycling can help save the earth from waste and trash build-up. For example, fifty percent of roofing and construction on houses is made from recycled aluminum cans. Using recycled materials to produce new products costs less money and less energy than new materials. It can also save valuable landfill space. People have trash everyday. Pretty much anything is recyclable. If you throw them away, it?s a waste of natural resources, a waste of energy, and a waste of money. Instead people should take the time collect these things and put some effort into helping in the world we live in.
“What Would Happen If People Didn’t Recycle?” The Online Gargoyle. Friday 1 July 2011. University of Illinois Board of Trustees. March 21,2014. http://uni.illinois.edu/og/opinions/2011/07/what-would-happen-if-people-didn-
Some people say recycling is a waste of time. If one is a very busy person, then maybe. But taking that extra two seconds to recycle, saving energy, money, resources, and the world isn’t a bad plan either. If everyone would take the extra two seconds to recycle, the extra effort would help to make the world would be a much cleaner and more efficient place. Recycling could also help to lower taxes in the long run. Recycled materials have value, and trash costs money. A city recycling program could sell it and make money. Then, with the extra money, the city wouldn’t have to charge as much money on taxes. Now how does those two extra seconds sound now? One can better the place they live in and save some money by taking two extra seconds to recycle.
Recycling is important in the effort to preserve our environment for future generations. We are running out of locations to put landfills. Recycling is a simple and effective way to reduce the amount of waste stored in landfills, yet many people do not know how easy it can be. For example, whenever I go to Shoprite® and I b...
"Recycling | Reduce, Reuse, Recycle | US EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. .
The environment conscious person can say, “But the cost does not matter, as long as the environment is benefiting from it.” Yes, it is entirely true the purpose of curbside recycling is to lessen the damaging effect we have on the environment. However, recycling essentially puts dangerous chemicals and toxins in to the environment. For example, paper recycling, according to the Clean Water Action Council of Wisconsin, that process creates hazardous by-products: “Approximately 250 tons of PCBs -well-known cancer-causing chemicals- were dumped into the Fox River … by paper recycling industries.” (Clean Water Council) Put into perspective: 250 tons is more than the complete amount of trash produced in the United States in one year, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. (EPA)
Over the past year there has been over a million pounds of trash and debris filling up our landfills. This trash and debris have been found all over the beaches and found in the water killing ocean life and killing our reefs. This problem can cause our ocean food supply to plummet. It can also affect our economy ultimately by affecting our tourism. I am interested in this issue because, living in Hawaii and going to beach everyday I see beautiful beaches being trashed. So I would like to do anything I can to help the beaches and prevent this from happening.
The people of America throw away more trash than any other society in the world! America consumes 80 percent of our planet's resources, even though we make up only 20 percent of the world's population (Cooper 267). The average person throws away 4.3 pounds of trash each day. That's about 30 pounds per week and 120 pounds per month! (“Reduce and Reuse” 1). Americans throw away too much - that's the bottom line (Cooper 265). There is a garbage crisis in America and “the only part of the anti-waste message that has taken hold to any noticeable degree is the call to recycle” (Cooper 267). Our country's issues on trash and recycling go hand in hand. America produces too much trash, and the environment is suffering. There is some effort being put into countering these issues through recycling and trash management, but is it enough? (Cooper 267).
There are many people in the United States today that are unemployed due to our economy. Therefore, recycling could create jobs for those people. Recycling is a complex process that needs multiple workers. First, the plastics and other recyclable items have to be collected. Next, the plastics have to be separated into categories. This might seem simple but it is a three step process. The first separation is made directly by the codes on the plastic. The second separation makes smaller categories of like plastic materials. The third separation is made by determining certain properties of the plastics that are comparable. The categories are then shredded, sanitized, and then melted down. Finally, the factories then mold the plastic into direct items or palletize them for use in the future (Manrich, 9). The recycling companies could make their money by making deals with major corporations. For example, they could collaborate with Pepsi by creating their plastic soda bottles. The recycling companies would be able to sell and create these bottles for cheap since they do not have to pay for the materials to make them. Also, they use less oil than a plastic production factory would use. Thus, it is a cheaper way to create new plastic items. Therefore, there are endless possibilities that allow the recycling business to
On the other hand, some people feel that recycling should not be mandatory. Some people feel as if recycling is not always cost effective. Sometimes, there may be a need for new factories to process reusable materials. This could even create more pollution because of the cleaning, storage and transportation that takes place. Also, some people feel that recycled products may not last for long. Recycled materials are not always a reliable quality. The materials are mostly made up of trashed waste, which is why the products are cheap and last for a shorter period of time. Another reason why some people think it is not necessary to recycle is because there are unsafe and unhygienic recycling sites. Places like landfills, where all sorts of waste is dumped contribute to the spread of different diseases and other dangers caused by harmful chemicals and waste. People also think that r...
Lots of people consider recycling to be kind of a no-brainer, something we all should do. It’s good for the environment, it re-uses materials rather than creates new ones, it reduces landfills -- the list goes on and on. But one major benefit that people often overlook is the impact recycling programs can have on a community.