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Things That Need to Be Recycled

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency promotes the mantra, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." The EPA encourages consumers to be conscious of the waste they produce, reuse things instead of throwing them away and recycle everything that can be. There are everyday items that need to be recycled like aluminum cans, newspapers, plastic and glass. These items need to be recycled because of their massive consumption and colossal amount of waste. However, there are positive environmental effects to recycling these everyday items.

  1. Aluminum Cans

    • Many sodas, energy drinks and beverages come in an aluminum can. These cans need to be recycled for environmental and economical reasons. According to Earth911.com, within 60 days, an aluminum can is recycled and sold again on a store shelf. In addition, in 2007, 54 billion aluminum cans were recycled. The recycled cans saved the same energy supply as 15 million barrels of oil. If that is not proof enough that cans need to be recycled, Earth 911 also states that the aluminum industry paid out $800 million to people who collected and turned in their empty cans.

    Newspapers

    • According to Recycling Revolution, 38.2 percent of the world's total waste comes from paper. Newspapers need to be recycled because of the magnitude of their use in our everyday lives. Recycling your newspaper has benefits for the economy and environment. The more people that recycle their newspapers, the cheaper they will be to buy. Printing companies end up having more recycled paper and then you pay less for your newspaper. Newspapers also need to be recycled because it reduces the amount of trees that become paper. Recycling Revolution states that if every American recycled one-tenth of their newspaper consumption, we could save 25 million trees a year.

    Plastic

    • Plastic bottles and other plastic products need to be recycled because they are harmful to the environment. According to the Container Recycling Institute, sales of plastic bottles in the U.S. doubled from 2002 to 2005. Consumers use an estimated 29.8 billion plastic bottles a year. Too often, these bottles end up in landfills. CRI states that recycling plastic actually saves twice as much energy as it takes to burn the bottle in an incinerator. Plastic also needs to be recycled because it is harmful to wildlife. According to CRI, an estimated 1 million sea animals die every year because of a plastic bag or bottle that has ended up in the ocean.

    Glass

    • Glass needs to be recycled because of its massive use and impact on the environment. Research from Recycling Revolution found that every month, we throw out enough glass bottles to fill a skyscraper. There are environmental benefits to recycling glass. The first benefit is saving energy. Recycling Revolution states that the energy saved from recycling just one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. Imagine how many hours of energy you can save by recycling all of your glass bottles. Glass also needs to be recycled because of the amount of waste produced in making it. Research from Recycling Revolution found that in the process of making glass, mining and transporting raw materials creates 385 pounds of waste for every ton of glass. If more glass were recycled, the mining and transporting process would decrease dramatically and help the environment.

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