Essay 1 Cause/Effect

Essay 1 Cause/Effect – Recycling: Let’s Clean up and Recycle
Nicole Lamers

Every day we all have waste to dispose of: a wrapper from a food item, an empty box of cereal, a beverage can, papers of all sorts, and so many other items we no longer have use for. All of the examples of waste must go somewhere, usually the trashcan; the disposal of waste is the purpose of having a trashcan. Trash is tied up in a bag, nice and neat, and then put in a dumpster or a larger curbside trashcan to be hauled away in a garbage truck. This is a relatively easy way to dispose of trash and keep a more tidy living space and environment; however, there are reasons to rethink this daily routine of waste disposal. Although discarding used materials with the trash is simple, recycling should become a daily habit because recycling cuts down on greenhouse gases, saves natural resources, and saves our community’s land and money.

“The disposal of solid waste produces greenhouse gas emissions in a number of ways. First, the anaerobic decomposition of waste in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Second, the incineration of waste also produces carbon dioxide as a by-product. Additionally, in transporting waste for disposal, greenhouse gases are emitted due to the combustion of fossil fuels. Finally, fossil fuels are also required for extracting and processing the raw materials necessary to replace those materials that are being disposed with new products.” (November 2007. Methodology for Estimating Municipal Solid Waste Recycling Benefits) Recycling reduces these emissions by cutting down on the amount of waste that ends up in a landfill, thereby reducing the amount of waste that would have contributed to the production of more gases. Transportation of waste needs to take place whether the waste is going to a landfill or recycling plants; however, the transportation to recycling plants still helps eliminate greenhouse gas emissions through other means offsetting the fact that fossil fuels are used in transportation in both instances. Recycling also provides materials to be used in creating new items for goods, reducing the need for raw materials. Recyclable materials take less energy to collect and form into new products. Emissions of greenhouse gases due to the extraction and processing of raw materials can be lower through recycling.
The use of raw materials to make new products puts a strain on our natural resources. Natural resources such as timber, minerals, and water are not easily replaced and the processes for collecting natural resources can result in different pollutions. Not only are there greenhouse gas emissions released in the process, through extraction, transportation, and processing the natural resources, but the areas the resources are collected from can be damaged or polluted in the process. In the instance of timber there is a form of damage in a more concealed way. Natural forests are becoming less in number, trees are being planted in place of those being cut down. The other side to new trees being planted is that they are also maintained and cared for resulting in tree plantations. When the land becomes host to tree plantations it is no longer a natural home for wildlife or other plant growth, this is damage to our natural forests and the environments of these forests. Strip mining, in the case of extracting minerals, is another form of environmental pollution and damage. When waste is recycled it helps eliminate the need for natural resources which helps conserve our limited natural resources.
Recycling not only saves our natural resources but also saves our community’s land and money. Waste that is thrown out as trash makes its way to landfills or incinerators. Landfills are not bottomless pits and do have a maximum capacity. When a landfill reaches maximum capacity a new landfill is needed. A full landfill does not simply break down and go away within a couple of years. The old landfill occupies a piece of land filled with waste that continues to break down and produce toxic gases such as methane and carbon dioxide. Before a landfill becomes an old landfill another one must be in place. The cost for just siting land for a new landfill is in the millions. Providing a new parcel of land to fill with trash is very expensive for a community. Incineration is not a good alternative because the incineration process produces greenhouse gases and costs the community money. It takes energy for incinerators to run, and energy costs money. Recycling, on the other hand, helps prolong the life of a landfill by cutting down on the amount of waste that ends up in the landfill. The more we recycle the longer a landfill will last resulting in saving a community both money and land.
Our environment, natural resources, and community all benefit from the slightly more involved action of recycling over simply using a trashcan. Recycling does involve more effort than throwing out the trash. Recyclable waste must be sorted into different groups of like material whereas trash can be a combination of any materials. The small amount of extra time it takes to sort the waste is more than worth our time. With practice, recycling can become as automatic as taking trash to the curb and with it provide benefits. Recycling is important; recycling cuts down on greenhouse gases, saves natural resources, and saves our community’s land and money.

Black, Harvey. (1995, November 1). Rethinking Recycling.  http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1289/ehp.951031006

Denison, Ph. D., R.A., & Ruston, J.F. (1996, July 18). Anti-Recycling Myths: Commentary on “Recycling is Garabe”, 19-20.  http://www.edf.org/pubs/reports/armythfin.html

Methodology For Estimating Municipal Solid Waste Recycling Benefits. (2007 November).   http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/06benefits.pdf

U.S. EPA  Wastes. (2011, December 09). Resource Conservation – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  Recycling.  http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/recycle.htm