The Importance of Recycling & Going Green
In 2008, American households generated 250 million tons of waste, over half of which was deposited in landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Landfills are an unsustainable way to deal with waste, not only because much of the trash deposited in a landfill will never decompose, but also because overfilled landfills often leak pollutants, contaminating local groundwater and air. Recycling is one of the simplest ways for our society to go green, reducing waste by recycling useful materials.
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History
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Before the Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970, very little solid waste was recycled in the United States. The EPA estimates that in 1960, only 7 percent of waste was recycled or composted. Recycling rates stayed below 15 percent through 1989, but by 1994, approximately 20 percent of waste was being recycled. By 2008, although recycling rates had reached nearly 30 percent, many recyclable materials were still being put in landfills. For example, only 28 percent of glass containers were recycled in 2008.
Significance
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By reducing landfill waste, recycling helps conserve space and prevent pollution. In addition, because recycling allows materials like paper and glass to be reused, it helps conserve raw materials like timber and minerals that are used to manufacture those materials. Recycling these materials also uses less energy than making new materials, conserving energy use and reducing greenhouse emissions from energy sources such as coal-fired electric plants.
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Types
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Recyclable materials are collected by local city or state waste management centers and separated into types for recycling. Types of recyclable materials include office paper and cardboard, glass containers and bottles, aluminum and steel cans, tires, batteries and electronic materials such as cell phones.
Considerations
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Although recycling reduces waste and conserves materials and energy, it is not always the most efficient way of going green. For example, washing and reusing a glass bottle in its existing form uses less energy than recycling it into a new bottle. Also, reducing waste at the source with methods such as reducing packaging for goods is more effective and efficient than recycling unnecessary packaging.
Potential
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As of 2008, a large percentage of some recyclable materials continue to be deposited in landfills, leaving a great deal of potential for growth in recycling. For example, more than half of aluminum cans were not recycled in 2008, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, there were only 8,660 curbside recycling programs in the United States in 2008, fewer than in 2002.
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References
- Environmental Protection Agency: Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2008
- Green Living Answers: Landfills
- Environmental Protection Agency: Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 1995 Update
- NSF International: The Public Health and Safety Company: The Importance of Recycling
- Photo Credit recycle earth image by feisty from Fotolia.com
