Recycling's Environmental Impact: A Complex Balance

Considering the effect of clinical and technological developments, the principle of waste to wealth is an ecological problem.

1. Environment Modification

When processing the initial (virgin) material, the amount of energy used up in their extraction along with transportation usually involve burning fuels which sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Although production of products through recycling requires use of energy too, the quantity needed is much less than what would be required for extracting, producing and transporting the original materials. Likewise, to a large level, the procedure of waste to wealth decreases the production of large quantities of greenhouse gases produced from incinerators and landfills.

Waste-to- wealth job through recycling also absorbs carbon dioxide from the air as it slows down the rate of logging which works as carbon sink.

2. Water Contamination

Recycling reduces water contamination in numerous ways. Numerous damaging waste and chemicals are dumped in bodies of water since we produce a lot of garbage. Recycling lowers this garbage. Our disposing of this garbage in the ocean affect lots of water animals.

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About three hundred billion pounds of plastic is produced entirely in the world, and only a small portion is recycled, while the majority of the remaining are dumped in the ocean. Picture that! A few of the hazardous chemicals in our garbage from garbage dumps might leak into the ground, and eventually get to the ocean and other water bodies not forgetting our groundwater. This contaminates water. By recycling we produce less andreduce the amount of trash fruit and vegetables and chemicals discarded in our water bodies.

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With recycling there isn't the requirement to make new items. This implies that the energy required to make these products is saved. This energy is generated from coal-fired powers stations and there, sulphur dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Sulphur dioxide combines with water in the environment to produce sulphuric acid which condenses to the ground in kind of acid rain and decreases the water pH.

3. Air Pollution

With recycling, less amount of fossil fuel is required to produce and therefore, less greenhouse gases are pumped into the atmosphere. It also reduces amount of emissions from incinerators as well as slows down the tree-felling process. With photosynthesis, the trees absorb the carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere.

The Downside

In some cases however, recycling may be the source of air pollution as seen in Houston in 2013 where the metal recycling project was seen to be releasing smoke as well as cancer-causing chemicals into nearby neighbourhood. Also the welding as well as cutting processes of the metal was releasing metal compounds in the air which is not good for the people inhaling it as it is poisonous when combined in the blood. So, sometimes, recycling can cause more air pollution.

4. Soil Pollution.

Soil pollution is a form of land pollution, where the upper layer of the soil is damaged. The excessive use of chemical fertilizers, soil erosion caused by running water and other pest control measures leads to loss of fertile land for agriculture, plants for forest cover and also fodder patches for grazing. With recycling, there is less waste put in landfills. Landfills are bad because there is usually a very high concentration of materials which are not biodegradable and these cause toxic chemicals to slowly leach into the soil around. However, compositing of biodegradable material such as leaves and food waste enrich the soil as they introduce carbon, nitrogeb and other inorganic compounds that are good for some soil-resident organisms and also reduces the need for artificial fertilizers. On the downside, paper recycling is very expensive and the process of bleaching is greatly practiced in this process in order to make the recycled paper as bright as original papers. The process of bleaching uses harmful chemicals which defeats the aim of recycling

CONCLUSION

Recycling affects the environment in many ways, both positive and negative. Each one of us can have an impact on improving the environment and making a conscious effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle in order to have a positive effect on the environment

REFERENCE

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-land-pollution.php Recycling and Climate Change http://www.plantops.umich.edu/grounds/recycle/climate_change.php(Aug 22, 2014 ) Retrieved 2014,October 29. https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081208191457AAUeMoi http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016 [web log post] Retrieved 2014, October 29. How Does Recycling Influence Air Pollution? by Fraser Sherman, Demand Retrieved from:http://classroom.synonym.com/recycling-influence-air-pollution-8489.html [Web log post] Media . Synonym.com © 2001-2014 Retrieved 2014,October 29.

Updated: Nov 30, 2023
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Recycling's Environmental Impact: A Complex Balance. (2016, Sep 14). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/effects-of-recycling-essay

Recycling's Environmental Impact: A Complex Balance essay
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