
Recycling and reusing are simple, effective ways to reduce pollution. By recycling, we can cut back on air and water pollution, as well as the pollutants released into the atmosphere by factories. Recycling also helps to moderate the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, and it helps to conserve Earth's resources. For example, recycling plastic bottles saves up to 60% of the costs of making new bottles, and using recycled glass decreases mining wastes by 80% and air pollution by 20%. Reusing items also helps to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills, which can contaminate the water we drink and the food we eat.
Characteristics | Values |
---|---|
Reduces air pollution | Recycling glass decreases air pollution by 20% |
Reduces water pollution | Recycling keeps trash out of landfills and prevents the pollution that factories emit when using virgin materials to make new products |
Reduces mining waste | Using recycled glass decreases mining waste by 80% |
Reduces litter | Recycling reduces the amount of litter on urban, suburban and rural roadways |
Reduces costs | Recycling reduces the costs of having to pay someone to pick up the trash |
Reduces energy consumption | Recycling cuts back on energy consumption, e.g. recycling plastic bottles saves up to 60% of the costs to make new bottles |
Reduces greenhouse gases | Recycling helps to moderate the greenhouse gases that add to global warming |
Conserves Earth's resources | Recycling helps to conserve Earth's natural resources, e.g. fossil fuels and other natural resources |
Reduces landfill waste | If more people recycled, it could reduce about 50% of the volume of waste in landfills |
What You'll Learn
Recycling reduces air pollution by cutting back on the pollutants released by factories
Recycling also helps to reduce the amount of mining and extraction needed to produce new materials, which saves on mining waste and preserves fossil fuels and other natural resources. If the whole world recycled aluminium twice as much as it currently does, more than a million tons of pollutants would be kept out of the atmosphere.
Recycling keeps trash out of landfills, which not only reduces air pollution but also helps to prevent water pollution. About 80% of the material in landfills consists of solid waste, some of which could be recycled. If more people recycled, it could reduce about 50% of the volume of waste in landfills.
Recycling also helps to moderate greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and conserves the Earth's resources. It also helps to mitigate the problem with industrial plants and manufacturing activities.
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Recycling reduces the amount of litter on roadways
Recycling keeps trash out of landfills, which take up a lot of space and are noisy, smelly, and unsightly. Landfills consist of solid waste, some of which could be recycled. If more people recycled, it could reduce about 50% of the volume of waste in landfills. This would also reduce the costs of paying someone to pick up the trash.
Recycling saves on the costs of manufacturing new materials, which helps to reduce pollution. For example, recycling plastic goods means factories don't have to spend as much money manufacturing new plastic products from petroleum, saving on mining and extraction costs and preserving fossil fuels and other natural resources. Recycling plastic bottles alone saves companies up to 60% of the costs of making new bottles.
Recycling also helps to reduce the amount of mining waste. Using recycled glass, for instance, decreases mining waste by 80% and air pollution by 20%. If the world recycled aluminium twice as much as it currently does, more than a million tons of pollutants would be kept out of the atmosphere.
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Recycling reduces the amount of waste in landfills
Recycling keeps trash out of landfills and helps prevent the pollution that factories emit when using virgin materials to make new products. For example, using recycled glass decreases mining wastes by 80% and air pollution by 20%. Recycling plastic goods means factories don't expend as much money to manufacture new plastic products from petroleum, saving on mining and extraction costs and preserving fossil fuels and other natural resources.
Recycling also cuts back on energy consumption. By recycling plastic bottles alone, companies save up to 60% of the costs to make new bottles. If the whole world recycled aluminium twice as much as it already does, more than a million tons of pollutants would be kept out of the atmosphere.
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Recycling reduces water pollution
Recycling saves on the costs to manufacture new materials, which means that factories do not have to expend as much money to make new products from petroleum, reducing the amount of mining and extraction that needs to be done. This preserves fossil fuels and other natural resources, which helps to reduce water pollution.
Recycling also helps to reduce the amount of litter on roadways, which can otherwise end up in the water supply. If more people recycled, it could reduce about 50% of the volume of waste in landfills, which would help to reduce water pollution.
Overall, recycling is an important way to reduce water pollution and help protect the environment.
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Recycling helps to conserve Earth's natural resources
Recycling glass, for example, decreases mining wastes by 80% and air pollution by 20%. Recycling plastic goods means factories don't need to expend as much money to manufacture new plastic products from petroleum, saving on mining and extraction costs and preserving fossil fuels and other natural resources.
Recycling also cuts back on energy consumption. By recycling plastic bottles alone, companies save up to 60% of the costs to make new bottles. If the whole world recycled aluminium twice as much as it already does, more than a million tons of pollutants would be kept out of the atmosphere.
Recycling reduces the amount of litter on urban, suburban and rural roadways and reduces the costs of having to pay someone to pick up the trash. If more people recycled, it could reduce about 50% of the volume of waste in landfills.
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Frequently asked questions
Recycling reduces the need for manufacturing new materials, cutting back on the pollutants released into the air by factories. It also helps to moderate greenhouse gases, and keeps trash out of landfills.
Reusing items means that fewer new items need to be manufactured, reducing the amount of energy and natural resources used, and cutting back on the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.
Recycling and reusing items reduces the amount of waste that ends up in landfills, which can contaminate underground waters.