The Impact Of Recycling

Recycling has been something that has always been in human society. Even before the modern era humans still used and reused natural resources to survive and develop as a society. Here in the US, recycling didn 't really make its impact until the 1940s, during the second world war and has only started to advance even further within the last 15 years as more efforts for environmental preservation are being made. From schools, and major companies down to individual homes, recycling programs can be found in most countries that are developed. As technology continues to grow many advancements have been made in renewable resources like solar or electrical power. Recycling though being around much longer has only recently made strides like collecting

“In 2011 it was estimated that over 2.3 million people worked in and around the recycling business. This includes people designing the labels for recycling all the way up the facility operators”(Sponaugle). These jobs aren 't on just limited to the US.We spend a majority of our waste overseas to china as they have such a high demand for raw materials and this is the most economical way of producing them. Can the growth of the recycling industry be the reason that recycling itself isn 't impacting to its greatest potential? “..between 2000 and 2008-a period of growth in china-the prepackaged food industry grew 10.8 percent”(Minter 41). This may not seem significant but in a broader view that prepackaged food is generating more waste than a fresher product but at the same time is more convenient. In a sense recycling is telling use as a consumer not to save and reuse but actually to waste

Also recycling as spoiled societies in well developed regions. I Believe we consume way more then we need because we know it 's will be reused for a good cause but all that waste is generating more working for recyclers which in way is counterbalancing the environmental benefit. In Junkyard Planet by Adam Minter he spoke on a study that was done at the university where they observed the paper towel usage in a men 's restroom over a period of time. First with just a trash can and then the second time the recycling bin included the study found that that people used about half a hand towel more where there was a recycling bin (pg 266). “The increasing consumption found is partially due to the fact that consumers are well aware that recycling is beneficial for the environment: however the costs of recycling are less salient”(Minter 267). I believe the reason why recycling isn 't technically working is because we consumer see recycling as a first option when it 's actually should be sacred process that should be used in rarity. We as consumers need to think conserve instead of