Recycling: Making a Difference one Piece of Garbage at a Time

Recycling: Making a Difference One Piece of Garbage at a Time

Abstract

This paper explores the subject recycling and what we can do to help our environment. With the use of online sources and print books, I have gathered much research to inform the public of what we can recycle, how to recycle the items and its effect on our environment. I will explore for you how to cut back the garbage that is being sent to the landfills, how to conserve natural resources and decrease emissions of greenhouse gas.

Recycling: Making a Difference One Piece of Garbage at a Time

We've all heard it a million times either in school as children or now as adults; follow the three R's: recycle, reduce and reuse. But are we all actually doing our part to save the environment from all the waste that we as humans are creating. One main thing we can do to help our environment is to recycle. Recycling is the process of taking a product that is at the end of its use and using all or part of it to make another product. Now we may think what does this have to do with us? Well it has everything to do with us since we are the ones creating all the waste that is being thrown into landfills. Recycling is a simple way that we as consumers can help out the environment, create profitable market for recycled goods and help preserve natural resources from depleting.

Most of what we use ends up as garbage within months, weeks, days or even minutes and with the United States being the world's most wasteful society; we send 236 million tons of solid waste to the landfill each year. In the United States the number of landfills has shrunk over the years from 8000 in 1988 to 1674 today. But the amount of garbage is not shrinking, almost three times more garbage is created today then in 1960. This of course is due to the increase in population has grown and our lifestyles have changed. More products are available now then ever before but less materials are being used to package these products so this stops waste before it even starts (Parks 2008). By recycling as many items as we can, we can save energy, reducing the need for landfills, conserving natural resources and decreasing emissions of greenhouse gas. So let's see what we can do as individuals to help our environment one household at a time.

Let start off with that fact that only one third of the waste in the United States is being recycled each year and the average American generates about 4.6 pounds of garbage a day. Some of this is caused by the fact that many people do not understand what we can and can't recycle. That and throwing the wrong trash in the recycling bin can contaminate