The Greatest Benefits Recycling Has on the Environment
We all get junk that builds up in and around our homes. Some of us have graveyards of old furniture and appliances lying in the front or backyard. Piles of discarded clothes and textiles all tend to accumulate. Not the mention the food waste and packaging we go through on a weekly basis.
Most of us want to make sure that these items are disposed of in a responsible and sustainable way. Recycling is the common means by which we convert this waste into something that is re-usable and has a minimum impact on the environment.
A responsible rubbish removal service in Sydney is able to make sure anyone’s trash is taken, sorted and given to the appropriate reprocessing centre. But what are the biggest benefits that this process has for the environment?
photo/ StockSnap
Reduction to Landfills
Obviously the more of our trash that is salvaged, the less of it is taken to landfill. Landfills are a problem that is getting harder and harder to manage as time goes on. Non-biodegradable waste like plastics take a long time to decompose and will stay in landfills for hundreds of years.
Landfill waste not just ugly and space consuming, but negatively affects the atmosphere. Gases like methane and carbon dioxide are given off and are the main contributors to global warming. Dangerous chemicals from discarded cleaning products can seep into the soil and affect the quality of agriculture in the area.
There is also an effect on local wildlife as many birds and small mammals are drawn to the large amounts of food waste in landfills. This can make them sick and harm the local ecology.
Re-utilising materials means that things that aren’t biodegradable don’t need to go to landfill but can go back into circulation. This means less raw materials and resources need to be processed to create the same items.
This works to minimise the waste that is sent to landfills and prevent them from becoming an unmanageable problem for the environment. A Sydney rubbish removal service will be committed to making sure as little of someone’s waste ends up in a landfill.
Reduction to Incineration
Some people think incinerating waste is an effective way to get rid of it. It actually has a severely negative affect on the surrounding air and water. This decrease in air and water quality leads to a public health cost when respiratory and digestive harm is done to the population.
Re-circulation of materials reduces the amount that is incinerated and helps to minimise its negative consequences.
Conservation of Non-Renewable Resources
A large majority of industries are extracting the Earth’s natural resources at an increased rate to keep up with demand. Many of these resources, like fossil fuels, exist in a finite amount and will never be reproduced. As the world transitions to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, it’s important to conserve these precious natural resources as long as possible so that future generations are not disenfranchised.
Re-utilising as much of these resources as possible will minimise the amount that is left unrecoverable and give the world more time to integrate renewable means of production. Recycling materials like paper, steel and plastic can save large amount of fossil fuels that are used in their production.
Saving Forests
While trees grow back, making them a renewable resource, they are not always harvested in a sustainable way. Deforestation affects the habitats of millions of animal species around the world and can even lead to their extinction.
Less and less trees also results in a reduction in the quality of the Earth’s breathable air. Transporting and processing lumber also uses a large amount of fossil fuels that form greenhouse gasses.
With the demand for paper products being the number one contributor to deforestation, salvaging as much paper as possible is important deterring this practise.
Limiting Manufacturing
The production of many of the goods that end up in landfill also produces a large amount of waste and pollution. Energy is wasted producing and distributing new items that could have been replaced with something recycled.
Many waste products of manufacturing end up contributing to landfills and dangerous chemicals used in production can seep into the soil and pollute the air.
Final Thoughts
Recycling is ultimately necessary for the continued quality of human life on both a large and small scale. Long term problems like landfills and greenhouse gas emissions have an accumulative effect on the health of the planet and consequently future generations.
That’s why making sure each and every one of us is recycling our waste is so important. Using a professional rubbish removal service in Sydney is an ethical solution to someone’s waste management.
Author: Colin Steinway
