To Recycle Or Not To Recycle

We all know we should RECYCLE; it is the smartest thing we can all do as individuals to increase the health of our planet. When we RECYCLE our household waste properly we are helping to save our planet’s precious resources. The fundamental benefits of our recycling choices can impact on pollution, landfill, wildlife and our energy consumption. When raw materials are made the way in which they are collected and processed it contributes to both air and water pollution. When we RECYCLE these materials, such as paper, plastics and metals, we are assisting to decrease the process of the production of new raw materials. This reduction reduces the amount of pollution that is produced to make these materials, thus reducing the overall amount of pollution that impacts upon the environment.

 

By recycling and reusing items that would otherwise end up in landfill, we are able to reduce the amount of items that end up in these spaces. Raw materials that are extracted from the environment destroy and threaten the habitats of many species. By recycling these we can help to assist our native wildlife in keeping their homes. We can also lower the energy used to extract, refine and transport many of the raw materials used for producing our everyday items, products and equipment. Recycling your plastic can help  to counteract the impact the production this material has on our planet. In the production of new plastics the raw materials that are used are oil and coal. These two are the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases that are responsible for our Earth’s climate changes. Plastic is found in our waterways; around eight million tonnes is estimated to be floating around, which is responsible for the death of over one million sea creatures every year. The energy we can save from recycling just one plastic bottle is enough to power your computer for twenty-five minutes!

 

Today, paper is still the world’s most commonly used consumer product. In our digital world we are striving to become paperless in our homes and at workplaces, we are still consuming around two hundred and thirty kilograms per person per year in unrecycled paper. Here in Australia, we are world leaders in our paper recycling with around eighty-seven percent of all our cardboard and paper products being recycled. According to the website of Waster.com.au recycling one tonne of paper saves thirteen trees, two and half barrels of oil, four thousand one hundred kilowatts of electricity, four square metres of landfill and almost thirty-two thousand litres of water. With statistics like these how can we afford to not RECYCLE our paper and cardboard products? Thinking sustainably and introducing ourselves to mindful acquisition of the consumer goods sold with excess packaging will benefit our ethical responsibility, allowing us to do our bit in the conservation of our planet’s valuable resources.