Advantages of Recycling in the United States of America - Essay Example

? Recycling in the United s of America Recycling refers to the process by which new commodities are generated for reuse from trash that is collected and processed. (EPA, 2012) In the United States of America, it has a long history going back to the early seventies in Pennsylvania. It is here that the first waste recycling plant known as Waste Techniques was installed. With time, the practice spread to other cities and states in an effort aimed at managing the ever increasing loads of waste materials that were becoming a headache to local authorities. It should however be noted that all this developments in waste management took place against the backdrop of lack of mandatory legislations on recycling. Consequently, states like New York, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Hawaii among others introduced measures to popularize and enforce recycling as a waste management strategy. Through legislations, disposal of recyclable wastes was penalized and the offenders had to part with heavy fines. Keywords: recycling, waste materials, legislations Recycling in the United States of America Recycling entails collecting and processing materials that would otherwise end up in trash. The recycling process converts such material into new products. As such, recycling is very beneficial to both the community and the environment. Many countries across the globe have embraced the concept of recycling. For instance, the United States has been in the frontline in ensuring that recycling is done in an effective way. As much as there lack any federal law that mandates recycling in the United States, various states and local government have taken it upon themselves to institute a wide range of recycling requirements and procedures. Various states have established law oversee the recycling of various products. In a nutshell, mandatory and voluntary methods were employed in implementing the introduction and adoption of recycling. While the mandatory strategy drew its backing from compulsory laws and regulations, voluntary techniques were enforced without coercion and were built around winning the goodwill of concerned parties and letting them participate at will. Many states employ the two strategies combined in order to increase the avenue for effective waste management and so far the results are tremendous. The country has lived to see trucks which collect garbage being combined with waste processing trucks to speed up the recycling of unwanted materials Waste management is currently a burning issue as the world dawns to the harsh realities of global warming together with the ever changing climatic patterns. Many conventions and declarations have been made to try reversing the trend but still there remains a substantive work to be done (Pellow, 2007).Garbage has been identified as a contributor to this threat to sustainable human, animal and plant life on the planet earth. The question then comes to how best can these wastes disastrous as they are be managed with the least of resources to attain an efficient pollution free environment? It is upon this basis that recycling as a waste management technique comes in. This presentation critically looks at the advantages and disadvantages of employing it as a waste management strategy in the United States of America (Pellow, 2007). Advantages of Recycling It promotes the conservation of scarce natural resources. Due to their limited availability, resources like timber, minerals and water need to be protected from depletion as they play a crucial role in ensuring the sustainability of life and minimizing conflicts that may result from the scramble for the little available resources. Trees play a crucial role in the gaseous exchange of the ecosystem besides providing ground cover and protecting water catchments. Water is a necessity of life for both the flora and fauna. Its absence or limited presence thus poses a great risk to the environment. Minerals are limited in supply meaning their continued extraction leaves nothing. It is thus imperative to recycle the available timber material to protect trees and water. Recycling products made from minerals will check on their depletion (EPA, 2012). Second is the fact that recycling offers a solution in the reduction of greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere which in effect checks on global warming. Accumulating garbage in landfills produces methane gas which disrupts the ecosystem as it is released to the atmosphere causing a general increase in temperature. On the other hand, recycling such waste material ensures they are put back to use in harmless states. Third is the economic significance recycling has to the residents of the United States of America. The recycling and manufacturing sector has directly and indirectly created job opportunities for entrepreneurs and workers employed in the factories which improve their living standards by providing a source of income empowering them economically (EPA, 2012). Fourth is the role it plays in decongesting incinerators and landfills. This is because recycling works on the principle of putting a waste matter back to use as opposed to disposing it. Landfills are there only to be filled with the waste matter until they are full and when their capacity cannot allow any more they are relocated to other sites. When such wastes are recycled it means there will not be any need to send them to the landfills and incinerators (Guilain, 2008). Next is the significance it has in minimizing pollution more so in the extraction of new raw materials. Most of these raw materials are extracted from the earth and in the process we have noise, land and air pollution among others depending on the raw material under extraction. By recycling available products of these processed raw materials, we remove the necessity of extracting others and as seen above it minimizes pollution that comes with the extraction process (Zimring, 2009). In addition a lot of energy is saved. The United States of America has one of the world’s largest power consumption overhead costs owing to its vast size fuelled by the innumerable industries and factories it boasts of. Recycling reduces the chain of energy needed right from extraction and further processing of the resources to end up with a final product as it reconverts the product to another usable form (Threadgould, 2011). Lastly is the obvious duty each generation is entrusted with in relation to future generations. It is the ultimate dream of every parent to offer the best of life to their next in line. Similarly, we all have the task of ensuring the future generations of America and the world over are entitled to a clean, conducive and productive environment possible. So by recycling waste materials Americans will be assured that the country they pass to the coming generations is more than fine. Disadvantages of Recycling First is the cost of recycling which may be a little expensive for the states and governments tasked with reconverting this used materials into useful products. A lot of financial resources are required in collecting, sorting and transporting the materials to factories for recycling as opposed to damping them in landfills (Lund, 2000). Second is the development waste management in areas with special interest in landfills have developed. For instance special strategies and measures are in place to ensure that the rate of pollution and other harmful effects on the environment are eliminated or minimized. With the current levels of scientific and technological advancements the wastes are sorted according to their nature and toxicity for effective management. Besides the dumpsites are managed to ensure certain requisite standards are met. Dumpsites are also a source of income for the city and residents. This is due to the fact that a lot of tax is charged for those who wish to use the dumpsites hence small towns might resort to provision of dumping services to neighboring cities and earn from the same. Also the residents around the dumpsites collect some of the materials which might be required for recycling by groups with such special interests in exchange of monetary or any other rewards they so wish. Some of the recycled products might turn out to be of lower quality against an ever demanding market which seeks the best of commodities available. This would fail to recover and sufficiently reward all the human, physical and financial capital invested therein to get the final recycled commodity (Zimring, 2009). In addition, other than landfills, incinerators are used to burn certain unwanted material. The method is entirely based on using heat from fire to manipulate the waste matter. In the process a lot of heat is generated and may be harnessed with the correct technology to serve other uses. Recycling on the other hand may not be able to produce as much heat. Some other waste matter which cannot be recycled may be burnt to provide heat like the glossy papers for instance (Lund, 2000). Moreover, America as a country has a lot of land that is not inhabited by owing to the harshness of its topography among other reasons. Such mass waste lands can be put to use using them as dump sites and saving on the otherwise short term high costs of having to recycle the emitted and used waste material. It is thus logically insufficient to resort to recycling as an option saving on limited spacing when there is mass uninhabited and equally unappealing land for human and animal settlement (Lund, 2000). It is clear from the foregoing discussion that there are many options available in the management of environmental pollutants. Both the use of landfills and incinerators or recycling have significant advantages and with equally notable disadvantages. Their use is also limited by factors relating to their scope and nature. It is thus our duty to analyze such factors and make informed choices. All in all recycling offers the best alternative in waste management(Lund, 2000). Waste management is a very vital subject especially for planners of towns, cities and even countries. This is because failure to observe certain simple guidelines and policies aimed at reducing and eliminating pollution will directly impact on the universe negatively. Therefore, there is need to guarantee residents an environment free from toxic wastes as it promotes good hygiene and health. The greatest conscience people must learn to develop is a peaceful coexistence with the environment. This is in line with recognizing that a lot of our well-being is overly dependent on it. The question of choice on how best to implement this should be left to the dictates of our social, economic and political environments as they play a crucial role in influencing the method to opt for. We should also be ready and willing to make sacrifices wherever necessary to see this come true. This is because the short term costs may seem to be expensive. A detailed investigation on the long term benefits associated with recycling of these unwanted materials will however demonstrate that these costs are negligible and it would be erroneous to consider them as obstacles. The cost incurred in creating a perfect sustainable environment is priceless and is above all a necessity for each and every generation. Corporate bodies, individuals and companies operating in given areas have a corporate social responsibility to ensure their business environments are safe for business and human occupation. This will go a long way in boosting the image of their businesses besides minimizing conflicts with the occupants of their operating business environment. Lastly it is also the duty of individual persons to come up with measures aimed at conserving the environment. If we all own the process and make it our responsibility for which we must hold ourselves accountable, then we will have made a leap jump towards ensuring a harmonious coexistence between the environment which feeds and shelters us and all living things that are dependent upon it. In conclusion, all concerned persons need to come up with rational decisions on the best way to dispose of their waste matter. This should be decided basing on the costs; time, practicality and nature of the waste in question. At the end of the day everyone will need to weigh the available options and decide on whether recycling or using landfills and incinerators together with other waste management practices will most suit their immediate interests. References EPA. Recycling basics/reduce/reuse/recycle. Retrieved from epa.gov/recycle/recycle.html Guilain, C.(2008).  Reusing and recycling: Help the environment. Jordan Hill, Oxford: Heinemann-Raintree. Lund, H. (2000). Mcgraw-hill recycling handbook. (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Pellow, D. (2007 ). Resisting global toxics: Transnational movements for environmental justice London: The MIT Press. Threadgould, T. (2011).  Remake it: Recycling projects from the stuff you usually scrap. NewYork City: Sterling. Zimring, C. (2009). Cash for your trash: scrap recycling in America. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. Read More