Amid the climate crisis, we should all be aware of the positive significance effective waste management holds. In case you need a reminder, this blog explores the many important benefits of recycling our waste.
Reduced air pollution and CO2 emissions
In comparison to using raw materials, recycling will produce less air pollution and release less CO2 emissions. Studies have shown that recycling reduces greenhouse gases by the equivalent of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide – this is because the need to burn fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel and coal is decreased.
Healthier ecosystem for humans and wildlife
Recycling helps create a healthier environment for both humans and wildlife. Rivers and lakes, wildlife habitats and coastal waters can become contaminated with plastic, sewage, chemicals and other harmful materials, such as heavy metals and toxic acids from factories. The more we recycle, the less waste will end up polluting the environment and damaging ecosystems. Additionally, polluting materials can be recycled into compost or fertiliser and used to enrich the soil in local fields. This can help maintain clean and healthy surroundings for humans, fish and animals.
Conservation of the earth’s natural resources
Recycling also reduces the need to harvest new materials from our planet. This helps conserve nonrenewable resources. For example. recycling paper and wood saves trees and forests. While you can plant new trees, you can’t replace virgin rainforest or ancient woodlands once they’re lost. As mentioned earlier, conservation of the earth’s natural resources will result in less pollution, fewer forests cut down, rivers diverted, wild animals harmed or displaced.
Energy-saving
Recycling can save a lot of energy that would otherwise be used to produce new raw materials. This is usually because the products being recycled usually require much less processing to turn them into usable materials. For example, using recycled aluminium cans to make new aluminium cans uses 95% less energy than using bauxite ore, the raw material aluminium is made from. This is because the large amounts of heat and electricity required to make raw aluminium is no longer required.
Reduced need for materials going to landfill
Burning materials such as cardboard, plastic and more cause significant air pollution. In addition to this, after incineration we’re left with toxic gases as a byproduct. Therefore it’s important to reduce the need for incinerators and landfill as much as possible – which is why recycling is so crucial.
At Cherry Hill Waste we aim to send as little waste as possible to landfill. At the moment, our commercial waste recycling reports let us know that we recycle around or over 90% of all waste we receive, and almost 0% is sent to landfill. Over the next few years, we hope to dedicate ourselves even further and recycle 100% of our waste. For more information on environmentally friendly waste disposal, contact a member of the team today.
