Abstract
Several experts have been concern about the effectiveness of recycling in mitigating the effects of pollution and global warming. Some even argued that the recycling process is economically and environmentally ineffective due to the large costs and large amounts of energy required for the process. However, the practice of recycling should be continued and improved since it has numerous potential benefits against its alternatives. First, recycling is not a waste of money since the alternatives to this strategy such as incineration and landfilling has larger costs due to environmental damages. Second, issues and problems associated with recycling could be avoided or removed through technological advancement and development of recycling process. Third, recycling helps people to be involved in global strategies in mitigating the effects of pollution and global warming and helped in promoting environmental awareness. In general, recycling process is still a better choice than not recycling at all or adopting its alternatives.
INTRODUCTION
In the modern times, the society has been conscious and concern about the potential effects of human activities in the environment. The environmental consciousness is also one of the main reason why recycling is practiced in almost all parts of the world (Hopewell et al., 2009). Recycling is considered as one of the most viable and effective solutions to pollution and global warming. This practice could lead to the reduction of the use of traditional fossil fuels such as oil and reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emitted (Alwaeli, 2012). In addition, recycling could also reduce the risk of pollution since it could decrease the amount of wastes which could be disposed in landfills.
Although recycling is promoted by local and federal government agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, numerous experts have been concern about the effectiveness of recycling in the modern times (MacBride, 2011). There are several issues concerning the practice of recycling. First, experts have been arguing that recycling could reduce the useful characteristics of the materials such as strength and durability. Second, the process of recycling is expensive (Hopewell et al., 2009). Third, not all materials could be recycled. Fourth, the general population is not educated enough regarding the process of recycling and how they could help in this environmental strategy (Alwaeli, 2012). Lastly, the process of recycling has not been improved for the past decades due to several barriers such as potential problems in the recycling process and lack of information in the general population regarding the recycling practice (Pingsha, 2013).
Although numerous issues are involved in recycling, people should still continue this practice and experts should find a way to improve this process. Recycling is still a better option than its alternatives such as incineration of wastes and waste disposal in landfills. In addition, recycling still provides numerous advantages to people. Recycling is still a viable solution to pollution and environmental problems. Experts should focus on improving the process of recycling in order to reduce or eliminate some of the problems involved in this practice. In general, the process of recycling should be continued and improved since it is a better option than not recycling at all.
LITERATURE REVIEW
In order to analyze the economic and environmental issues concerning the practice of recycling, the history and process of recycling should be evaluated. In this case, this review will present the brief history or recycling in the United States as well as the overview of its process. The review will also provide a detailed evaluation of the two sides of the issue concerning the practice of recycling. First, the economic and environmental issues of recycling are presented then the responses to these arguments are discussed in the latter part. The last part of this review will summarize the arguments of both sides. It will also include the general position of this paper which is arguing for the continuation and improvement of the practice of recycling despites the challenges.
Brief History of Recycling and its Process
The practice of recycling is not new for the Americans. It has been recognized as a practice even as early as 900 AD. However, its importance in the society has been recognized during the 1970s due to the emerging environmental problems such as pollution and global warming. During the 1970s, environmental organizations introduced the Mobius Loop which is a symbol for the practice of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” which became the common strategy to promote environmental awareness (Alwaeli, 2012). Recycling became a common practice in several states especially in Oregon which enacted the first policy towards recycling which is the Bottle Bill. As years progress, states and cities have implemented policies towards banning on disposing and landfilling recyclable materials. During the 1990s, the national rate of recycling is estimated to be 25% (Hopewell et al., 2009). It means 25% of the recyclable materials are collected and subjected into recycling process. The EPA as well as the local government set the goal of improving the national rate of recycling to 50% by 2010 (Hopewell et al., 2009).
The process of recycling has not been changed over the past three decades. It starts with the collection of recyclable materials including paper, glass, steel and plastics. In most cases, the sorting of wastes materials are initiated at homes. Additional sorting process is done after the collection of recyclable materials. In the case of paper, the sorting of materials are minimal. In the case of glass, steel and plastics, sorting requires comprehensive process since different types of materials should be separated. In the case of plastics, the materials are separated based on the type of monomer used in the production (Hopewell et al., 2009). Then, the recyclable materials are placed in size reduction and cleaning processes. Lastly, the materials are recycled based on the most advanced technology which could be used in the process.
Issues Concerning the Practice of Recycling
The issue of recycling emerged after it flourished in many communities and states during the 1980s. Some people argue that recycling is expensive and ineffective in terms of reducing the potential effects of pollution and global warming. One of the articles stating the issues concerning the practice of recycling are the article by John Tierney entitled “The Reign of Recycling” which was published in October, 2015. According to Tierney (2015), the economic and environmental benefits of recycling have not improved since the 1990s. He argued the policies and the mandated strategy of recycling did not helped in improving the process of recycling. The costs of recycling is still expensive than its alternatives such as incineration and landfilling.
Tierney (2015) also added that the national rate of recycling has not improved. In his article, Tierney pointed out that the national rate of recycling has been stagnant around 34% in the current estimate. The future of recycling is also considered a disaster according to Tierney (2015). Several reasons why recycling in the society has failed were discussed by Tierney in his article. First, recycling is expensive and does not reduce greenhouse gas emission since the process also requires high amounts of energy. Second, the benefits of recycling do not compensate the disadvantages such as reduced quality of materials and reduced profit. Lastly, Tierney (2015) argued that the reduction of greenhouse gas emission due to recycling is negligible.
Arguments of Continuing the Process of Recycling
Some people and organizations do not agree with the arguments presented by Tierney in his article. According to Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) of the state of Oregon (2015), recycling is not a waste of time. The agency argued that recycling could reduce the energy consumption equivalent to 29 trillion BTU or 230 million gallons of traditional fossil fuel such as gasoline (Department of Environmental Quality, 2015). They also argued that the analysis of Tierney in his article is not valid since he failed to consider the full costs analysis of the recycling process. In addition, the agency also discussed that Tierney only presented the economic and environmental analysis of recycling and failed to include the economic and environmental analysis of the alternatives such as incineration and landfilling. The DEQ added that incineration and landfilling is more environmentally dangerous since it has higher greenhouse gas emission than recycling (Department of Environmental Quality, 2015).
Other studies also suggest that recycling is beneficial to humanity. According to Cabalova et al. (2011), recycling of paper is the most efficient alternatives to production of more paper. Recycling of paper reduced energy consumption and avoids depletion of natural resources such as trees. In the study of Hopewell et al. (2009), the researchers argued that recycling of plastics should be improved due to its potential in solving the problem of pollution and global warming. According to their article, there are numerous ways to improve the recycling process such as reduction in the use of Polystyrene and polyvinylchloride as monomers of plastics. These types of plastics are considered not recyclable.
Recycling of materials has been the main goal of the society due to the increasing awareness regarding pollution and global warming. It started as an advocacy of environmentalists during the 1970s and became a modern practice. Several issues could be associated to the practice and process of recycling including the large costs and ineffectiveness in reducing the greenhouse gas emission. However, many environmentalists still acknowledge and promote the potential benefits of recycling of waste. The main objective of this paper is to argue that recycling of materials should be continued by people and efforts should be provided in improving the process of recycling in order to reduce or avoid the issues and problems associated to recycling.
WHY CONTINUE TO RECYCLE?
There are numerous reasons why people should continue to practice recycling despite the issues of its economic benefit and effectiveness in mitigating or reducing environmental problems. These reasons could be recognized in analyzing some of the unintended and potential benefits of recycling which most people do not understand or know. In addition, one should also recognize that recycling is still a better choice than not recycling at all or adopting its alternatives. The evidences are based on the comparison of recycling and its alternatives such as landfilling and incineration.
One of the main reasons why people should continue and improve the process of recycling is that the practice of recycling is not a waste of money. In contrast with the arguments of Tierney, the process of recycling is economical when considering its full potential or benefits to humans (MacBride, 2011). Although the costs of recycling are expensive, the alternatives to recycling such as landfilling and incineration are also expensive when considering the damages it could bring to the environment. Landfilling and incineration are processes which could increase the greenhouse gas emission. In landfilling, materials or wastes which are disposed could undergo chemical digestion in which methane and carbon dioxide could be by-products (Alwaeli, 2012). In incineration, it is known that the combustion process results in the emission of carbon dioxide. When considering the costs of the potential environmental damages of these alternatives, one could recognize that recycling is a better choice economically.
Another reason why people should continue and improve the process of recycling is that technological developments could provide solutions to issues and problems associated to the practice of recycling. In the past, only selected materials are recyclable. In the present times, additional materials are subjected to the process of recycling (Department of Environmental Quality, 2015). In the case of plastics, policies were made in order to mandate businesses or companies minimize the use of plastic materials which could not be recycled. With these policies, the plastic industries developed strategies to increase the use of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and polypropylene (PP) in manufacturing processes involving plastic materials (Hopewell et al., 2009). In addition, they also used technological advancements in order to improve the process of recycling of plastic materials such as new methods of separating adhesives and plastic products.
The same development is experienced in the process of recycling paper. One of the main issues in paper recycling is the diminished quality of the recycled material (Pingsha, 2013). However, numerous attempts have been developed in order to reduce the cellulose degradation during the recycling of paper. The cellulose degradation is the process responsible for the reduction in the quality of the recycled paper (Cabalova et al, 2011). One of the promising alternatives is the use of secondary fibers which is mixed with the papers before recycling in order to maintain quality (Calvini et al., 2007). In general, technological advancements could help in reducing the problems associated to recycling (Cabalova et al, 2011). In addition, people should continue to promote this environmental practice in order to increase the funding of studies associated to the development of the recycling process.
The third reason why people should continue and improve the process of recycling is that the practice of recycling makes the society involved in promoting environmental awareness. Due to recycling, people became involved in strategies for reducing pollution and mitigation of the potential effects of global warming. The common citizen could be involved in global strategies in reducing environmental problems just by sorting the recyclable materials to non-recyclable materials (Alwaeli, 2012). Even though some people argue that the environmental benefits of recycling are relatively low, the large participation for the communities could help improve or increase the benefits of recycling.
In general, the practice of recycling should not be stopped. Local government, federal agencies and the common citizens of the community should continue to support or promote the practice of recycling since it could provide potential benefits to humanity. There are many ways to reduce or remove the problems of recycling such as technological development and increased public participation. In the modern times, the use of information technology such as the internet and social media could be used to promote the practice of recycling and help improve the recycling process to benefit the society.
CONCLUSION
The recycling process or practice is challenge by numerous issues and disadvantages. Some experts are arguing that recycling process failed to provide solutions to environmental problems due to its large costs, low public participation and low national recycling rate. If these issues or concerns are not considered, the recycling process could be stopped and people would find another strategy to mitigate the effects of pollution and global warming. However, one could realize that almost all strategies for environmental problems have its challenges, barriers or disadvantages. The solution to this problem is not to stop the practice of recycling but to improve it in order to reduce or avoid the issues or problems associated to its process. There are other numerous ways to improve the process of recycling and technological advancements could help providing these solutions. Public participation is also essential in solving this issue. People always have the opportunities to promote environmental awareness through the use of social media. It is a matter of individual responsibility.
References
Alwaeli, M. (2012). Waste and Waste Management: Municipal Solid Waste: Recycling and Cost Effectiveness. Hauppauge US: Nova. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com
Cabalova, I., Kacik, F., Geffert, A., & Kacikova, D. (2011). The Effects of Paper Recycling and its Environmental Impact. Environmental Management in Practice. DOI: 10.5772/23110
Calvini, P., Gorassini, A. & Metlami, A. L. (2007). Autocatalytic Degradation of Celulose Paper in DealerVessels. Restaurator, 28:47-54
Hopewell, J., Dvorak, R., & Kosior, E. (2009). Plastics recycling: challenges and opportunities. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1526): 2115–2126.
MacBride, S. (2011). Urban and Industrial Environments: Recycling Reconsidered: The Present Failure and Future Promise of Environmental Action in the United States. Cambridge, US: The MIT Press. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com
Pingsha, H. (2013). Environmental and economic benefit of recycling model of packaging waste: a case study on aluminum. Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment, 2(3): 30-35.
Tierney, J. (2015). The reign of recycling. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/opinion/sunday/the-reign-of-recycling.html?_r=0.
