Recycling is a concept that has been gaining strength in recent years due to the growing interest in a greener and more self-sustaining world.
United States Environmental Protection Agency says:
“Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products. It can benefit your community and the environment”.
How does recycling help the environment? Benefits of Recycling
There are many reasons for recycling, most of them are simple common sense:
- Reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators.
- Conserves natural resources such as timber, water and minerals.
- Increases economic security by tapping a domestic source of materials.
- Prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials and reducing carbon emissions.
- Saves energy.
- Supports American manufacturing and conserves valuable resources.
- Helps create jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries in the United States.
How you can help in the loop of recyling?
People can help close the recycling loop by buying new products made from recycled materials. There are thousands of products that contain recycled content. When you go shopping, look for the following:
- Recycled-content product: product manufactured with recycled materials either collected from a recycling program or from waste recovered during the normal manufacturing process. The label will sometimes include how much of the content was from recycled materials.
- Post-consumer content: the material comes only from recyclables collected from consumers or businesses through a recycling program.
- Recyclable product: products that can be collected, processed and manufactured into new products after they have been used. These products do not necessarily contain recycled materials.
Some of the common products you can find that can be made with recycled content include the following:
- Aluminum cans
- Car bumpers
- Carpeting
- Cereal boxes
- Comic books
- Egg cartons
- Glass containers
- Laundry detergent bottles
- Motor oil
- Nails
- Newspapers
- Paper towels
- Steel products
- Trash bags
You can recycle. Another way to conserve the environment is to use waste dumpsters when doing major cleaning or remodeling to ensure proper waste management in your home or business.
