What’s the Big Deal with Recycling?
We all learned we should recycle in school, but why? Recycling is not a new idea, people have always turned garbage back into useful items. But in the past few decades, as landfills filled-up, large-scale recycling programs sprang up. In 2017 November 15th was marked as New York Recycles Day to celebrate the gains we have made in protecting our home.
In 1988, recycling became the law in New York State and in 25 years local recycling programs prevented more than 320 million tons of materials from wasting away in landfills. By turning that trash into new materials an estimated 1 billion metric tons of CO2 was not released into the atmosphere.
Recycling allows materials to be used again instead of becoming trash in landfills. Plastic, glass, and other recyclable materials take eons to break down, essentially clogging up landfill space forever. But recycling does not just save land from becoming landfills. It saves energy, reusing materials is more efficient than harvesting new ones. Saving energy reduces carbon emissions and helps fight climate change.
Next time you throw your soda can into the recycling bin, congratulate yourself on being a good steward of your home. To celebrate New York Recycles, think about all the things you have save from landfills!
For more information on recycling and its importance check out the resources from the DEC:
https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/294.html
https://www.dec.ny.gov/press/111296.html
Post Brought to you by
Marissa Nolan
Food Scraps Educator
