10 Reasons Why You Should Recycle

 10 Reasons Why You Should Recycle

How many times have you seen people throw their trash away in the dumpster, even though they were provided with recycling bins? I am sure it has happened to most of us at least once, if not more than that. There are many reasons why people choose to do this and often, it’s because they are ignorant about the importance of recycling or because they think it’s too much of an effort to separate their garbage into various categories before throwing them away.

1) It's Free

Instead of paying to throw away your waste, why not recycle it? The cost of recycling is almost always significantly lower than what you’d spend on getting rid of your trash. Most businesses offer regular pickup, too. And if you have a larger amount of recyclables, some cities even have designated big box recycling bins or dumpsters for residents to use.

2) Reduces Waste in Our Landfills

Dumpsters and bins that fill with waste create a dirty and unpleasant environment for those around them. Reduce your negative impact on our shared environment by reducing waste and recycling it instead of throwing it away.

3) Helps the Environment

No matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to avoid generating some sort of trash in your life. This is why recycling is so important; while there are many types of trash cans and dumpsters to choose from, they are not all created equal. Using a recycling bin instead of a regular dumpster helps keep waste out of landfills and out of our oceans, where much of it ends up causing havoc on delicate ecosystems.

4) Reduce Greenhouse Gases

On a local level, recycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions. By diverting recyclable materials from landfills, we’re reducing our carbon footprint in two ways: first, by minimizing waste, and second, by producing less garbage for landfills to produce methane. Studies have shown that methane has a greater global warming potential than carbon dioxide because it remains in the atmosphere longer. In other words, keeping trash out of landfills saves us from having to deal with creating more global warming gases!

5) Less Dependence on Fossil Fuels

According to a report by The Worldwatch Institute, sustainable recycling is one of our best hopes for lessening dependence on fossil fuels. One of their most startling conclusions was that recycling aluminum cans consumes 95 percent less energy than producing them from raw materials. In other words, when you recycle, you help save energy and reduce pollution—not to mention save money in your household budget!

6) Helps the Economy

When people recycle, they create a market for recycled goods, which are then made available to manufacturers. And those manufacturers often need raw materials from which to produce their new products. In turn, recycling helps keep our economy afloat. Not only that but there’s also a lot of money to be saved on taxes and fees: many municipalities offer discounts on trash removal for residents who participate in recycling programs.

7) Protects Natural Resources

While plastic might not seem like a renewable resource, it is. It’s made from oil, which is a limited resource but regenerates over time. It’s recommended that you recycle all of your plastics to keep them out of landfills and waterways. Plastic bottles take 700 years to break down in landfills, but it only takes 4-6 weeks for them to be recycled into other items such as furniture or carpeting!

8) Makes Good Sense for Businesses

If you run a business, recycling can cut down on your garbage bill. It’s also good for employee morale to work in an environmentally conscious workplace. Increasingly, municipalities are requiring businesses to recycle if they want to get into a waste-hauling contract. Small businesses that don’t have space or money for new dumpsters can take their recyclables directly to a drop-off point such as a local school or fire station.

9) Saves Water and Energy

Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for more than 20 hours. If everyone recycled, we could save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year!

10) Supports Our Community

When you recycle, you make a difference. You’re helping to protect your community’s environment and preserving natural resources for future generations. In addition, recycling creates jobs and generates revenue that benefits your community. To ensure that recycling can continue to help our environment and support communities, be sure to recycle correctly by using clear bins with lids. The better your recyclables are sorted, collected, and processed, the more of them will be turned into new products.