Recycling is a practice that we must incorporate in our daily lives. Right from throwing paper in the trash to crushing the cans before throwing them, Recycling must be kept in mind. We know it helps the environment by protecting our natural resources but not much of us know to what extent.
Recycling not only saves our scarce resources but also the amount of energy that is required for production purposes. If a ton of paper is recycled, 17 mature trees, 7000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, and 4100 kilowatt hours of electricity is saved. Production of recycled paper requires 60% lesser energy than that used in the production of virgin wood pulp.
Although we can re-grow trees but there are resources which are finite in nature. Recycling metals has its advantages as well. 1 recycled aluminium can saves enough energy to light a 100 watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for three hours and a TV for 2 hours. Recycling of aluminium requires 100 times less power than preparing its product from virgin metal. When it comes to steel, a ton of recycled steel saves about 1134 kg of iron ore, 635 kg of coal and 55kg of limestone.
Plastic, the most lethal waste can also be productive. 26 recycled pet plastic bottles can produce a polyester suit, and if five of them are recycled they can produce the fiber-fill to stuff in a ski jacket. An extra large t-shirt can be produced of just five plastic soda bottles.
Recycling helps us in uncountable ways. Not only does it help us save the resources and skip the pollution by cutting down the cost and energy used in production but also provides job opportunities to thousands. It’s a practice that can streamline development without costing nature.