Recycling

Recycling is the process of recovering and reusing waste materials or products already disposed. These contents are collected and reprocessed to make new items; metals, plastics and paper are reused to produce different products. Recycling consists of three types; primary, secondary and tertiary. In primary recycling, materials are recycled without changing anything on them. An example of primary recycling is donating a book you are ready to dispose of with the same conditions you used it with and for the same purpose. In secondary recycling, some modification is done on the material but without involving chemical processes. An example is making a plant pot from cutting the upper part of a plastic bottle. In tertiary recycling, a material/product is altered chemically or through heating to create a new item. An example is chemical treatment of paper pulp into other paper products. Recycling is mandatory and not just a passing novelty anymore. The environment needs everyone to conserve it by reducing waste products as much as possible through recycling them.

Recycling traces its history to the first municipal dump program in 500 B.C., which was set in Athens. A law was made that trash had to be disposed a mile away from the walls of the city (Bradbury). Japan then documented the first reuse of paper refuse in 1031. In 1690, Philadelphia started the manufacturing process of reused paper. It followed that America greatly influenced the reuse of waste products in 1776. In 1896, the initial paper recycling center was established in New York. As a result of the World War 1, there were insufficient raw materials until the Federal government came up with the waste reclamation service. In the 1930s, people made it through the Great Depression by selling metal scraps and other reused paper products.

In 1940 during the World War 2, there happened to be recycling and hoovering of metals, rubber and nylon to uphold the war with paper recycling negatively affected. From 1965 to 1970, there was development of the Mobius Loop to symbolize reducing, reusing and recycling. The first “Earth Day” in 1970 called for national attention to educate people on the importance of recycling and to discuss the challenge of the rising levels of trash and waste paper. California agreed to buy paper consisting of only 50% recycled content in 1988 and the Federal Government adopted this policy by 1993.

From 1992 to 2000, America made significant steps in their recycling rates and growth of curbside programs. In 2000, it was stated that recycling reduces global warming. Between 2006-2007, e-waste recycling was introduced and Australia recorded the highest recycling of waste paper. Afterwards, paper mills significantly increased globally to increase waste paper recycling. In 2018, China banned the import of most recyclables including paper waste and the Ocean Cleanup System 001 was also developed to clean the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Since then, many cities and countries have adopted “zero waste” goals.

Basing on paper recycling, it can be considered inconvenient due to the effort required to collect waste papers and sort them for recycling. In a country like Malaysia, it is difficult to sort waste papers from the tons of trash in the landfills. One recycled paper does not solve environmental pollution, and people tend to lose interest. There is limited storage space for recyclables in homes and especially to the people living in apartment buildings. Paper recycling is also associated with bad odors and creates a feeling of untidiness. From many people’s perception, only clean products can be recycled (Strydom 3).

Paper recycling uses more resources than it saves since it calls for a complete process from collection, sorting, pulping and then bleaching. This process may risk contamination from other recyclables and cause production of low-quality paper products as it happened in China till an import ban was implemented. These reasons discourage people to embrace recycling as it appears as a total waste of time, energy and resources.

Recycling, however, is not all about waste paper but a concern for the general environment. It is helpful in the collection and reuse of waste paper littering the compound. Paper recycling has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding decomposition in the landfills to produce methane and by reducing the initial process. To curb bad odors and limited space, collection vehicles frequently pick waste paper for recycling. Paper recycling is also environmental-friendly since less raw materials are required; deforestation is controlled by reusing papers instead of cutting down more trees (Advantages & Disadvantages of Recycling).

Recycling helps to conserve non-renewable resources such as oil, natural gas and coal. Making products from recyclables obtained from non-renewable sources saves energy and reduces their rate of extraction. Habitat loss for birds and other organisms is reduced when paper is recycled instead of cutting down trees to obtain raw materials. The 2018 import ban in China on recyclables is being replicated in the United States as cities try to adapt to it by engaging in better practices to reduce trash. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a perfect example of how lack of recycling wastes is affecting our oceans and can cause harmful effects on human health and threaten aquatic life (Schoell). Malaysia is also an important example of how bad attitude towards recycling contributes to environmental pollution since its citizens consider it tiresome and difficult (qtd. in Jekria and Daud 2).

In conclusion, we have made progress in increasing the recycling of waste materials, but still, it is never enough. It is evident that a lot of benefits are associated with recycling such as global reduction of energy consumption, reduced environmental pollution, reduced rate of depletion of resources and also it majorly contributes to curb global warming. As opposed also, recycling comes with unnecessary labor, untidiness, time wastage and occupies space which is not always available. These factors are majorly contributed by the fact that not everybody has fully embraced the norm of recycling. Everyone should have a positive attitude towards recycling globally for a better world.

Annotated Bibliography

Co, About Renewable Resources. “Recycling Advantages & Disadvantages: The Ups & Downs of Recycling.” Renewable Resources Coalition, 12 Aug. 2019, www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/recycling-advantages-disadvantages/.

This article focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of recycling for readers

interested in knowing the pros and cons of recycling. The way the points are displayed is

a convenient and easy way to understand the content in this article. The author is not

mentioned. The author concludes that recycling has to be accepted globally to create a

positive global impact. From this, recycling should be perceived as to whether it is worth

the effort.

Bradbury, Matt. “A Brief Timeline Of The History of Recycling.” Resource Center, 2017.

This article analyzes the history of recycling and is intended for those seeking knowledge

on historical events. It related to the historical background required and its points were

well summarized. The author concludes that recycling is still advancing which is already

evident.

Jekria, Nurliyana, and Salina Daud. “Environmental Concern and Recycling Behaviour.” Procedia Economics and Finance, Elsevier, 4 Mar. 2016, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212567116000824.

This article researches on recycling behavior of householders. It provided information

about the environmental concern in Malaysia. It is written by two authors who conclude

that Malaysia needs to recycle as much as possible for their environmental benefit.

Schoell, Mary. “Garbage Island: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” Yale Environment Review, 2019.

This article focuses on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and its effect. It provided

information on how the ocean clean up system is tackling the garbage. The author

concludes that reduce, reuse and recycling of plastics should be initiated by individuals to

the government.

Strydom, Wilma F. “Barriers to Household Waste Recycling: Empirical Evidence From South Africa.” Recycling, vol. 3, no. 3, June 2018, p. 3.

This article studies the baseline recycling behavior of South Africa’s household. It

provided information on how recyclables are undesirable since they are mostly dirty. The

author implies that there is need to differentiate between what can and cannot be

recycled.

Works Cited

Co, About Renewable Resources. “Recycling Advantages & Disadvantages: The Ups & Downs of Recycling.” Renewable Resources Coalition, 12 Aug. 2019, www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/recycling-advantages-disadvantages/.

Bradbury, Matt. “A Brief Timeline of The History of Recycling.” Resource Center, 2017.

Jekria, Nurliyana, and Salina Daud. “Environmental Concern and Recycling Behaviour.” Procedia Economics and Finance, Elsevier, 4 Mar. 2016, p. 2. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212567116000824.

Schoell, Mary. “Garbage Island: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” Yale Environment Review, 2019.

Strydom, Wilma F. “Barriers to Household Waste Recycling: Empirical Evidence From South Africa.” Recycling, vol. 3, no. 3, June 2018, p. 3.