Building up a new waste recycling unit takes up a... 2. Increased use of natural resources would also affect natural habitats and biodiversity negatively. Recycling has been thought to reduce the fibre swelling capability, and thus the flexibility of fibres. High upfront capital costs Recycling is not always cost-effective. Disadvantages of Recycling 1. If people took the time to compost food and yard waste, recycle paper, metals and electronics, it would go a long way to preserving Earth's natural resources and help slow climate warming. Conventional plastic does not biodegrade, so the bottles sit in landfills indefinitely. consequences in the future Lack of space for waste treatment why should we recycle consequences of not recycling This has disastrous effects on ocean animals, coral reefs, and all the small ecosystems that exist in our waters. Why Getting Vaccinated Doesn't Mean You Should Toss Out the Mask — Yet. Recycling is one of the most effective alternative waste management solutions, and without it, garbage winds up either buried in a landfill or incinerated at a waste-to-energy facility. Sample details; Pages: 4: Words: 1063: Downloads: 3: Date added: 2019/03/14: Category: Environment Essay : Topics: Human Impact On The Environment Essay Landfill Essay Nature Essay Pollution Essay Recycling Essay Reuse Essay Waste Essay; The planet Earth is truly astonishing. Of that 254 million, about 87 million tons of this material was recycled and composted. Recyclable products are used as the raw materials for new products. Humans now represent the main contributors to the planet's warming, mostly because of the greenhouse gases – methane and carbon dioxide for the most part – added to the atmosphere from industries, electricity consumption, exhaust from cars and much more. Robyn Sawyer May 28, 2020 There’s no doubting the role that recycling plays in today’s society. By recycling plastics, the need for fossil fuels gets reduced, at least in the manufacturing sector where it is a material resource. Recycling and composting have reduced how much greenhouse gas was released. The EPA reports that recycling can help reduce the effects of global climate change, so not recycling may also contribute to increased climate change. Are there any harmful effects of recycling? How Did the VW Beetle Become an Emblem of the '60s? Year after year the garbage would continue to pile up. Not recycling increases the amount of garbage going to landfills, requires cities to open new landfills and depletes natural resources. Recycling also helps conserve natural resources. When recycling is done right, the materials needed to make that item can be sourced partially or entirely from recycled material. That saved energy can then be used on something else, or simply not … In 2017, the Global Recycling Foundation reported that we use a year’s worth of natural resources in just 7 months. Without recycling and combustion with energy recovery, all 258 million tons would have filled landfills and begun to pile up. - You'll put the people who pick up the recycling each week out of their jobs. Almost 1.5 million pounds of trash ends up in the ocean each year. As the number of our natural resources is decreasing day Landfill space is limited, and increased trash production would necessitate either the creation of new landfills or some other disposal method. Manufacturers use fossil fuels to make nylon and plastics, and if humans don't continue to recycle, this energy source may disappear altogether, sooner rather than later. However, every item that doesn’t get recycled has a compounding negative impact on our environment. Fish and other marine animals like seabirds can’t process many of our waste materials and thousands of them die from … Americans are really bad at recycling. Humankind should take cues from Mother Nature and do no less: recycle everything. A little more than half, or 136 million tons went to landfills. Tracy Fernandez Rysavy. However, every item that doesn’t get recycled has a compounding negative impact on our environment. Waste-to-energy facilities can theoretically eliminate infinite amounts of waste, but they also generate environmentally hazardous materials in the process. Those for recycling see things a totally different way. Both options pose problems. There are various reasons why this might happen. There can be a few, if the sites, where recycling is done, are not managed properly. Each year for the last 30 years, the Environmental Protection Agency has collected and reported information on the amount of municipal solid waste Americans generate to benchmark the success of existing waste reduction and recycling programs. Usually the items are made from paper, metal, glass, tires and plastics that we throw away in the garbage - everything counts as waste. 13 June, 2017 . Without recycling, Earth's increasingly finite resources, such as timber, mineral ores and water, would be in even shorter supply. The 2014 report states that residents produced 258 million short tons of municipal solid waste, with recycled and composted materials representing 34.6 percent of that amount or 89 million tons. New products are made by extracting raw materials through mining and cutting trees. Debris and toxic waste that is improperly handled can contaminate land, air and the environment. About 33 million tons underwent combustion with energy recovery – turning the waste into usable energy for fuel, heat and electricity. After a special treatment process it’s possible to turn waste into objects that can be easily used for making new goods. The recycling industry creates hundreds of thousands of jobs in the United States alone, and eliminating recycling would mean eliminating all of these positions. Disappearance of ecosystems and natural habitats Damage to animal species what do you think is the country that recycles the least ? Of course, any efforts that contribute towards recycling initiatives should be celebrated. What Are the Consequences of Not Recycling. - You'll have environmentalists after you for not trying to protect our planet. The Importance of Recycling to the Environment Usually, recycling means turning used materials labelled as ‘Recyclable’ in a disposer container where these are meant to be taken and reuse as materials for new products. If you don't recycle aluminum cans, lots of the world's energy will be used to make … Some of the consequences of not recycling include increased environmental pollution, reduced natural resources, increased energy consumption and reductions in the economy. Not all plastic you recycle ends up recycled. Recyclable items consists of solid wastes and other kinds of debris which may be dirty or may cause widespread pollution. By. Those against recycling don’t really seem to reject the act itself, they just don’t believe the value you get out for the effort that’s put in. Another economic impact would be the elimination of jobs. What are the Effects of Not Recycling? Copyright 2021 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. The Consequences of not Recycling in Missouri. It takes far less energy to reprocess used materials than to extract, process and manufacture natural resources into new products. - You'll put the people who sort the recycling out of their jobs - You'll never see the symbol "Made with 100% recycled paper" again. As lot of debris is collected everyday for recycling, the recovery sites can become unhygienic. Products you use every day come from materials recovered by recycling, including beverage containers, computer paper and appliances. Her stint as Manager of the California State Mining and Mineral Museum in California's gold country served to deepen her interest in science which she now fulfills by writing for online science websites. Consequences of not recycling old computers. The old computer components that are disposed of are considered as e-waste along with all other electronic items that are disposed. When items are thrown into the garbage, those materials are lost and need to be replaced by new material through mining, drilling or other methods of resource extraction. This would eventually lead to more landfills popping up near our homes. Sometimes also referred to as chemical recycling, feedstock recycling can be … Moreover, animals depended on the environment also face a great threat due to the oil spills and leaching of chemicals which directly cause soil and water contamination. Consequences Of Not Recycling What is recycling ? Without recycling, production of many consumer goods would require more energy and increase costs. The effects of recycling include lower energy consumption, less waste, lower greenhouse gas emissions and more preservation of natural resources. State has to spend a lot of money to counter the effects of improper waste management. According to the EPA, in 2013, Americans generated about 254 million tons of trash, that’s equivalent to about 1.7 million blue whales! The Compounding Effects of Not Recycling. Recycling can have an adverse effect on health and the environment when not done properly. Kamikatsu, Japan, a small mountain town of 1,700 on southern Japan’s Shikoku island, is going zero waste by 2020. And all of those potentially reusable materials are filling up landfills and sometimes oceans all over the world. But only because we’re not trying very hard. Feedstock recycling is one of the newer methods to recycle plastics. The rate at which e-waste is increasing is alarming. Some of the most notable ones include lead, mercury, cadmium, and chromium, all of which can do devastating harm when exposed to the earth, or to the human body. The EPA reports that recycling can help reduce the effects of global climate change, so not recycling may also contribute to increased climate change. However, every item that doesn’t get recycled has a compounding negative impact on our environment. Email. Negative effects of improper waste management not only ends in a disgusting view but also affects the overall economy of a country. This is why more stringent implementation must be … In 2013, for example, recycling efforts prevented 87.2 million tons of waste from going into landfills, which also kept 186 million metric tons of greenhouse gases from polluting the atmosphere even more, and is the equivalent of removing more than 39 million cars from highways and roads for an entire year. The findings of the early 70's on recycling effects have since been confirmed, although attempts to trace the cause of these effects are still not resolved (Howard &Bichard 1992). Recycling Benefits ; Health Effects ; Prevention/Solution ; Aluminum ; Paper ; Written by Victoria Weinblatt . But since the Industrial Revolution and the burning of fossil fuels, that has changed. Recycling helps conserve important raw materials for the future. The main challenges for mechanical recycling are heterogeneity and contamination. The purchase of these goods creates a market for recycled products and reduces environmental pollutants. The Compounding Effects of Not Recycling. Separation, washing and preparation of [plastic solid waste] are all essential to produce high quality, clear, clean and homogenous end-products. Recycling can also have an impact on economics, job creation and tax revenue. With the amount of garbage being generated around the globe every day, not recycling an item such as a soda bottle may not seem like it would make a huge difference. Unsafe and Unhygienic Recycling Sites Another major disadvantage of recycling is that it is often unsafe and unhygienic. As human beings we generate millions of tons of waste every day. Not recycling at their place is considered a sin. If you don't recycle paper, more trees will be cut down, reducing the world's oxygen and increasing the carbon dioxide. Recycling also dramatically reduces energy consumption. We Explain the Complicated History of Myanmar and Aung San Suu Kyi, Financing the Future: Setting Up Savings Plans for Grandchildren. 1) Disappearance of Natural Resources From increasing waste to putting waste-management workers in danger, these are some of the main negative impacts of recycling contamination. When it does, the plastic may end up in a landfill. While it may seem relatively harmless toss a couple of unrecyclable items into a recycling bin, doing so can have serious consequences. Recycling products such as cardboard, scrap metal, paper, and plastic can cut the size of our la… The recycling process itself is supposed to reduce the risk of wasting completely useful discarded materials that can be used for the production of new items. Since the invention of plastic – from oil – it's gotten everywhere, overwhelming landfills because it doesn't decay and filling the oceans with debris that harms and even kills marine life. Sample details . The Earth has undergone multiple climate changes, all part of its natural processes and evolution through many millions of years. Most of these take the form of microplastics, although plastic fibers have also been detected in items such as salt, beer, or honey. As far as humans are concerned, plastic waste has also been found in the food that we eat. So are a lot of communities in the US. Abandoned dump sites can severely damage the surrounding environment. Fossil fuels come from the fossilized remains of small water creatures and plant matter that existed during the Carboniferous Period, which occurred about 359 to 299 million years ago. What Are the Effects of Not Recycling Metals? When items are recycled, as much as 95 percent of the energy used to produce a new item is saved. Hitchin' a 400-Legged Ride: Why Are Japanese Millipedes Halting Train Traffic? Some of the consequences of not recycling include increased environmental pollution, reduced natural resources, increased energy consumption and reductions in the economy. EPA: Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: 2014 Fact Sheet, National Geographic: Carboniferous Period, Stanford University: It's About Forty Years Until the Oil Runs Out, EPA: Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: 2013 Fact Sheet. With the amount of garbage being generated around the globe every day, not recycling an item such as a soda bottle may not seem like it would make a huge difference. Recycling sites are always unhygienic, unsafe and unsightly Go to any waste recycling site, and you will almost... 3. Here’s how failing to recycle harms the planet: Landfills Fill Up … It makes them feel empowered in taking a small step towards a cleaner planet, among other things. However, we often do not realize that such waste items can be used as raw materials for the production of new items. Brenner is also a published sci-fi author. Harmful chemicals in the trash, can mix into water and soil. The Compounding Effects of Not Recycling. If we do not recycle than garbage winds up buried in a landfill, which is a huge problem because landfill space is limited and increased trash production will necessitate either the creation of new landfills or another type of disposal method. Email. She graduated from San Diego's Coleman College in 1972. Over time, the harmful toxic chemicals are leached into the ground and find their way into the groundwater and potentially contaminating drinking water supplies, rivers, streams, and eventually the ocean. In fact, you and your family may already work to recycle certain items found within your household, such as paper, glass or plastic. As a journalist and editor for several years, Laurie Brenner has covered many topics in her writings, but science is one of her first loves. The consequences of not recycling are dire for our survival as a species, especially if we consider that the planet is currently facing challenges such as climate change, pollution, deforestation of forests, or depletion of natural resources, among others. With the amount of garbage being generated around the globe every day, not recycling an item such as a soda bottle may not seem like it would make a huge difference. The plastic may end up buried underneath tons of trash. Too many the whole idea of separating your garbage seems silly but recycling has a purpose and with out it our planet would fall into dramatic problems. Email. The Earth recycles everything and reuses the material from dead plants and animals to feed new plant life and make new soil to replenish itself. So imagine what that would look like if none of that material was recycled. Require stricter and more stringent implementation. Landfill waste contributes to the production of methane, and too much methane in the atmosphere leads to the greenhouse effect, which is linked to global warming. Feed Stock Recycling. The effects of microplastic ingestion have not been studied to great detail, but it has been linked to decreased metabolism and inhibited fertility. Throwing away plastic bottles, instead of recycling them, means the bottles end up in landfills, many of which are already overcrowded and take up space that could be used for other purposes. How Do You Apply for Social Security Benefits? Current estimates are that by 2050 or thereabouts, the reserve won't exist anymore. Positive Effects of Recycling Conserves Resources.