Recycling
As you may have already guessed, recycling is the most basic and most mainstream form of a going green lifestyle.
There are, however, in our opinion a lack of information and education about proper recycling. For example, many do not know the proper way to recycle electronics, batteries, or cell phones.
Placing soda cans and newspaper in the recycling bin is a great start, but recycling is a lot more than just that, and we will talk about that here. For example, composting is a great way to get rid of "waste" and recycle it back into your garden.
While we are on the topic, you will hopefully come to find out that composting is a lot easier, very practical, and not as intimidating at all as it sounds.
Recycling Articles:
Why Recycle?
Recycling is processing previously used materials for use in creating new products. Why is this important and how does it serve to benefit the planet?
Manufacturing products from recycled materials creates significantly less air and water pollution than making these products from new materials.
For example, using recycled steel in manufacturing has been shown to cut down on 76 percent of the water pollutants and 86 percent of the air pollutants when compared to the manufacturing of the same product using non-recycled steel.
What happens when we don't recycle?
We either throw these things away, which end up in the landfills or they get burned. Why aren't these great options compared to recycling?
Accumulation of stuff in landfills may produce unknown gases and chemicals. In the US more than 80 percent of all solid wastes go into landfills, which may include toxic pollutants, cyanide, dioxins, methane, sulfuric acid. These and other pollutants from landfills escape into the air and may ultimately leech into groundwater.
Also, incinerators expel all kinds of air pollutants and produce contaminated ash.
Recycling keeps paper, glass, plastic, and metal out of incinerators. This aids in cutting down on both how much incinerators pollute and how harmful the emissions are.
When recycled materials are used to create new products, less waste will end up in landfills and incinerators. Space will be conserved and disposal costs will be reduced, and this could ultimately decrease air and water pollution significantly.
When recycled materials go into producing new products there is less need to continue to consume natural resources. This conserves land and reduces the need to dig for minerals or chop down timber. There will be less destruction to forests, wetlands, and rivers, and wildlife habitats will be preserved.
Since paper comes from trees it makes sense that recycling paper translates into saving trees. But there is more to the story: paper production from trees uses more water than any other industry in the U.S. So not only does recycling paper and buying recycled paper saves trees, but it also reduces the use of water.
Recycling saves energy consumption. It generally takes less energy to make recycled products. For example, making new steel from old scrap offers up to a 75% energy savings. Producing aluminum from scrap uses 95% less energy than new aluminum from bauxite.
On a personal level, recycling also means buying second-hand items instead of buying brand new products. It can also mean re-purposing things you already have in the home to meet new needs... such as recycling your tin cans into pencil holders and recycling your wool sweaters into pants for a baby. These are just a few examples of recycling products you already own.
In summary, recycling saves energy and natural resources. It reduces air and water pollution. In short, recycling should become a daily habit for each of us in our efforts to preserve the safety of the planet.