Environmental Issues

The global rise in total population has brought about an exponential increase in the net demand for consumer goods, energy, and industrial materials. Consequently, households, public institutions, and industrial installations are producing more waste than has never been preceded before in history. There is environment is struggling on one side to maintain a continuous and sufficient flow of resources to meet this demand and the energy required for industrial and home use and on the other to survive the pollution caused by the pile-up of domestic and industrial waste. Every day, tons of metal, glass and plastic containers used to package packed foodstuffs and drinks are discarded into the environment, and more of these packaging is required to meet demand. The environment becomes more polluted and natural resources continuously depleted. The answer to all these problems lies to a significant account on recycling.

Even though recycling has been proven to be beneficial to the society and environment, there are still challenges to its implementation, and unless we weigh the pros against the cons of recycling, we will not be able to determine whether its a noble cause or not and it will be hard to convince the masses to embrace it. First, a challenge facing the implementation of recycling programs is the initial cost. Recycling programs are relatively expensive to install as compared to sourcing requirements from already operational fresh production infrastructure (Hershkowitz 13). Secondly, it is hard to create awareness in the community regarding the benefits of recycling. In most cases, the benefits drawn from this cause are not immediately visible and the financial gains are seemingly insignificant. Some people have argued that instead of recycling, the society should decrease its consumption and reuse materials and packaging where applicable. Thirdly, the society lacks the technical know-how to fully understand which materials and substances are recyclable and the methods and criteria of sorting them.

Another argument opposing the implementation of recycling is the scale. In densely populated areas, the amount of waste generated is sufficient to justify the use of recycling methods but in smaller neighborhoods, the investment required to put up a recycling infrastructure is high compared to the volume of garbage these municipalities generate, rendering recycling initiatives unable to be self sustaining and economically unviable (Hershkowitz 13). Consequently, opponents of recycling advocate for the reduction of packaging materials and re-usage instead of recycling.

In my opinion, it will be extremely hard, even impossible to alter the consumption patterns of the society. Companies tailor their products to suit their customers needs in a very competitive marketplace therefore controlling the nature of packaging not only reduces the choices people have on what to purchase, but also eliminates the competitive edge on business activities. Furthermore, it could cut off the population with a lesser consuming power from accessing the products they need for their daily life. Secondly, it is true that the initial cost of setting up recycling plants is high, but in the long run as I shall soon point it out, the benefits of recycling outweigh these hindrances. Even if little financial incentive is available to the community, there is nothing better and healthy than living in a polluted environment, and the recycling of waste greatly reduces the levels of pollution.

As mentioned earlier, pollution levels are rising, and so is the rate of depletion of natural resources. To conserve the environment and our natural resources for use by future generations, we need to recycle waste. With every ton of waste recycled, a ton of garbage is eliminated from the earths surface, reducing the amount of landfill required to pile up this garbage and the detriment on the environment due to trash (Arms). Secondly, recycling materials requires far much lesser energy than processing them direct from the raw materials (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). At a time when the world is struggling to sufficiently meet its energy requirements, recycling not only conserves energy but also reduces emissions to the atmosphere from manufacturing industries.

Recycling has been slow to pick up not because people are unwilling to participate, but because the awareness is not there. If recycling programs are initiated in every neighborhood, office, and public institution, this awareness and environmental consciousness will increase as people strive to keep their environment clean and unpolluted-every society is happy and healthy. It is because of this that I recommend aggressive sensitization of the society on the benefits and methods of recycling (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). First, it is important to know which materials are recyclable. Metal is usually sorted according to type-steel, aluminum, brass and so on. Placed differently, it can be taken to a collection point and to the factory for smelting. Waste paper should be deposited at the waste collection point where it is forwarded to the plant, made into pulp and into paper again. Plastics are the biggest threat to the environment due to the quantities involved and surprisingly are the easiest to recycle (Arms). Plastic bottles and paper needs only be cleaned and deposited at a designated collection point.

Using the slightest effort to place your waste in a designated recycling point achieves much towards environmental and resource conservation. Furthermore, recycling can be done at home or in conjunction with relevant authorities as an income generating venture. The more people support recycling efforts, the cheaper they get. A lot of money is saved through recycling, and an efficient recycling system creates over 1 million jobs in the US, boosting the annual payroll by over 37 billion (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).

Certainly, recycling does much more good than harm. To encourage firms and households to recycle, the government should offer a remuneration or tax reliefs for consistency in recycling. We all have a duty to protect our environment and conserve our natural resources for our descendants. I therefore plead with everyone to strive and participate in this effort. The first step is learning how to sort out waste into respective recyclable categories and depositing it in the designated spots. Municipalities on their part should establish as many recycling centers and waste collection points as possible while educating the community on the recycling options it offers. As recycling becomes more efficient and cost effective when done in large scale, everyone who sees the benefits it has to offer should take a personal responsibility to educate family, friends and work colleagues, even the employer, to embrace this noble effort of maintaining communal health and resource integrity. I am not disputing that reduction is also an avenue for lowering waste accumulation we all should be conscious of how much waste we unnecessarily deliver to the environment and make a conscious effort to minimize it. Plastic bags or any other waste that is reusable should be reused, and if the opportunity is there to use biodegradable packaging in place of plastics or bottles, then this opportunity should be seized with enthusiasm.