Recycling Benefits: What Happens if We Don’t Continue to Recycle

Recycling is one the best ways to have a positive impact on the place we are living right now. Recycling is one of the most important key factors for both us and the environment. If we continue to recycle even more, the harmful impacts on the environment could decrease.

With the population increasing immensely day-by-day, there is more waste being produced and disposed (KevinOlsonMU). If we don’t continue to recycle, the harmful factors and their impacts on the environment will definitely enhance the effects.

In this current time the landfills are overloaded with excess waste and people are struggling to dispose these wastes. Due to this reasons there are more landfill sites being created and opened for more waste to be disposed.

It is difficult to get the perfect dug up land for landfill site as there must be the right underground mix of rocks and clay, and it can't be near ground water or wetlands, fault lines, and other sensitive areas.(“The Effects of Not Recycling.” ).With the garbage/waste accumulating day-by-day, people have to understand that some of this rubbish takes about 1000 years to decompose (for example plastic) whereas some landfills have the capability to hold waste for only up to 600 years. Harmful chemicals and greenhouse gases (such as methane and carbon dioxide) are been released from landfill sites.

Landfills contribute to air pollution and enhanced greenhouse emissions. “According to the U.K. Environmental Agency, about two-thirds of landfill waste is biodegradable organic matter from households, business and industry.”(“The Effects of Landfills on the Environment” ) Due to landfills there is an impact on biodiversity where the wildlife is affected and to create more space for landfills there is a process of deforestation(also contributes to air pollution) to create this extra land.

Landfills also make the soil less fertile, they contribute to groundwater pollution and also has an impact on health & vision ( as landfills give out methane and many other gases, different odors which can also affect health conditions of people working there).(“The Effects of Landfills on the Environment.”). Aluminium enters municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills from untreated raw curbside trash (MSW), industrial waste, and aluminum production wastes variously called dross, baghouse fines, salt cake, and other designations.

For coastal cities it has been a problem for them as a lot of the waste end up in the ocean, which also includes a lot of materials that can be recycled.
Most of the waste that is accumulated in the ocean is plastic and this plastic ends up being in the ocean for more than hundreds of year, hence being a major hazard for oceanic life. Aquatic animals can be killed by inhaling small pieces of plastic or getting caught in long pieces of loose plastic. If we recycle all of these plastic items we can ensure that none make their way into any of our water resources.3)

This waste not only deplete our environment but is also is an environmental cost. All these recyclable materials are being wasted and hence needs to be produced one again. Because of this reason we as a planet are running low on resources.