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“Is Recycling Worth It” Sample Essay Introduction In the modern society, with the increasing rate of ozone depletion, it is important to protect the environment we live in. This is because the future generation needs a safe place to live in. With this, it is critical for the society to embrace all the possible means of environmental conservation. Among the various means of environmental preservation, recycling is among the means of ensuring a safe hub for the generations to come. When recycling is discussed, it brings into focus the idea of reduce, reuse and recycle (Hill 6). Recycling can impact a positive environment since the surroundings will be clean and devoid of waste materials that can pollute the environment (Wilcox 4-8). Despite all the above facts, it is important to note that recycling has both its advantages and disadvantages. The merit is that it positively impacts the environment while the demerit is that it may lead to then production of chemicals that are destructive to the environment. Therefore, it is clear that human beings must shed off the limitations linked to recycling in order to ensure a positive impact on the environment. This paper seeks to address the benefits of recycling to the environment with emphasis on the economic and social benefits of recycling. Economic and Social Benefits of Recycling One of the economic benefits of recycling is that it helps in saving money. This is because the use of recycled materials is much cheaper unlike raw materials. For example, using fresh aluminum costs twice as much as recycled materials since fresh aluminum requires more energy to process unlike recycled one (Green & John 115). Besides, products that are made from recycled materials are cheaper, hence, can satisfy

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“Is Recycling Worth It” Sample Essay

Introduction

In the modern society, with the increasing rate of ozone depletion, it is important to protect the environment we live in. This is because the future generation needs a safe place to live in. With this, it is critical for the society to embrace all the possible means of environmental conservation. Among the various means of environmental preservation, recycling is among the means of ensuring a safe hub for the generations to come. When recycling is discussed, it brings into focus the idea of reduce, reuse and recycle (Hill 6). Recycling can impact a positive environment since the surroundings will be clean and devoid of waste materials that can pollute the environment (Wilcox 4-8). Despite all the above facts, it is important to note that recycling has both its advantages and disadvantages. The merit is that it positively impacts the environment while the demerit is that it may lead to then production of chemicals that are destructive to the environment. Therefore, it is clear that human beings must shed off the limitations linked to recycling in order to ensure a positive impact on the environment.

This paper seeks to address the benefits of recycling to the environment with emphasis on the economic and social benefits of recycling.

Economic and Social Benefits of Recycling

One of the economic benefits of recycling is that it helps in saving money. This is because the use of recycled materials is much cheaper unlike raw materials. For example, using fresh aluminum costs twice as much as recycled materials since fresh aluminum requires more energy to process unlike recycled one (Green & John 115). Besides, products that are made from recycled materials are cheaper, hence, can satisfy

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the needs of a lot of people including the lower class. Economically, recycling also significantly cuts down the amount of waste that ought to have gone to the landfill or incinerators (Porter 139). This is an implication that through the process of recycling, a lot of savings can be made on waste disposal costs that also include costs of landfill which can be quite expensive. Selling of recycled materials also helps in offsetting the cost of waste disposal, ensuring an economic advantage.

Another benefit of recycling is that the land used for waste disposal can be utilized for other important purposes like farming, irrigation or even forestry (Miller & Scott 291-294). This can benefit the society in that the projects initiated can be used for revenue generation. Recycling also creates employment opportunities to millions of people through the introduction of new businesses like transport, processing and even sales companies involved in the service of recycled materials.

Recycling also adds value to the waste products, thereby contributing to the increase of labor, skilled, semiskilled and unskilled. Hence, it points out to the creation of jobs, generating revenue to the country through taxes obtained from the waste management companies as well as their products. Recycling has social, economic and environmental benefits. Some of the social benefits include reduced green house gas emission and safe neighborhoods.

Human activities have considerably contributed to the acceleration of global warming through green house effect since these have changed the chemical composition of the atmosphere (Pendergrast 4-12). This contributes to the vulnerability of various environmental factors to the impacts of global warming. In this case, recycling can assist in lowering the emission of methane, saving energy as well as the sequestration of forest carbon. All these are important since they lead to a greener world.

Despite the fact that recycling has several advantages, it should be noted that it also has disadvantages. These include the possibility of

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recycling plant impacting huge pollution through toxins released in the process of recycling. The cheaper materials may not last long because of the promise of quality.

Conclusion

Recycling is a process that helps in environmental conservation (Vazquez & Enric n.d). Besides, it also helps in enhancing the use of fresh raw materials, and reduces the amount of energy used. Recycling might reduce air and water pollution through the reduction of convectional waste disposal. It also helps in cutting down the green house effect and this helps in ensuring the safety of the environment. Economically, recycling is important since it creates employment, creation of recycling organizations as well as boosting the revenue of the company. On social grounds, recycling helps in keeping the environment clean while also ensuring that the health of the people are safeguarded. Recycling reduces the consumption of energy, global warming and sustainable use of resources. It also creates greener jobs and maintains natural resources. Despite this, in certain instances, recycling may not be cost effective and the resultant products may not be as durable as the products manufactured from virgin raw materials and may need a large amount of money for the initial investment (Fullerton 24-27). Looking at all the available options on whether it is a good idea to recycle materials, it is clear that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Therefore, recycling is worth it and should be done since it has several social and economic benefits.

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References

Fullerton, Don, and Tom Tietenberg. The Economics of Household Garbage and Recycling Behavior. Cheltenham [u.a.: Elgar, 2002. Print.

Hill, Tracy, and Melinda Parker. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Greenwood, W.A: Ready-Ed Publications, 2003. Print.

Miller, G T, and Scott Spoolman. Sustaining the Earth. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.

Porter, Richard C. The economics of waste. RFF Press, 2002.

Vázquez, Enric, ed. Progress of Recycling in the Built Environment: Final Report of the RILEM Technical Committee 217-PRE. Vol. 8. Springer, 2013.

Wilcox, Charlotte. Recycling and Waste Management. Minneapolis, Minn: Lerner Publication Co, 2007. Print

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