There are plenty of reasons why you should recycle. It isn’t nearly as hard as some people may think it is. While it may take a bit of extra effort to change your routine to include recycling, once you’ve developed the habit of recycling, it’s a breeze to continue. Most people who adopt it into their lives find it second nature. Recycling is not only important for the planet but all beings living on it.
Here are the top five reasons you should start recycling today:
Recycling is good for the economy
You may wonder how this could apply to the economy. Well, recycling creates jobs. For every one person in waste management, there are four employees in recycling manufacturing. Since 2011, over 2.3 million people were employed by recycling-based jobs, such as working at recycling plants where recyclable materials are sorted and processed to the manufacturing of products from recyclable materials. In these times we live in, every job is appreciated and helps the economy.
Recycling helps save money
With extra funds that you make from recycling, you could invest in the best monthly dividend stocks to help you in your financial journey. When you are going to recycle your materials, remember that recycling plants are less costly than waste management facilities. This is because they offset the costs of collecting and processing recyclables by selling that material.
It isn’t much, but by returning your used bottles or cans, it is possible to collect a few cents here and there which can add up over time. Not only can you save money by recycling, but you can also earn it a bit as well, more than a few cents by selling scrap metal. It puts money in your pocket and those materials to good use. Like other forms of recycling, it helps you and the planet. For more information on selling scrap or thrash metal, please look at the article, Enlarging Your Pocket Size by Selling Trash Metal at thenewecologist.com.
Recycling cuts down on landfill use
By not throwing everything away, we keep more out of landfills and reduce the possibility of hazardous materials from contaminating the ground. Next time you want to throw away plastic, batteries, or metal, think twice about how these materials can be recycled and used again.
Recycling conserves energy
It takes more energy to process natural materials and resources such as trees and metal than it does to process recycled material. The transportation of those resources consumes more energy as well. Recycling alone can save 11.9 billion gallons of gas per year (Polypro Recycling). In using less of these natural resources, we can also conserve timber, minerals, and even water as well as the land not having to dig into it to find metals and oil. By not needing to collect new raw materials, this can also prevent pollution.
Recycling is good for the environment
Recycling is said to be 194 times more effective in the reduction of pollution and greenhouse gases (Polypro Recycling). Said pollution and greenhouse gases are often if not always produced by the processing and manufacturing of natural resources such as trees, metal, and oil which cause considerable damage to our environment.
Recycling is not only good for the future of this planet and its environment but it can also be good for you and your wallet. Reusing something, again and again, is always a good idea and can keep money in our pockets. Instead of just one-time use, we can recycle and make it smart and cost-effective. Many cities are discovering how recycling can benefit everyone.
In a Time magazine article entitled, The Benefits of Compulsory Recycling Programs, it discusses how Seattle saved $200 million in landfill costs since starting community recycling fifteen years earlier. In addition to cutting half the volume of all trash going to landfills from their communities, they recycled 11,000 tons of organic material, which is equal to 220 rail cars at the end of 2015. This alone proves everyone can make a difference.
