Impact of Recycling On Preserving the Environment.
With the rise in urbanization and growing population, it is challenging to manage the overburden of overcrowded cities, and extensive air and water pollution while meeting the overgrowing demands for food, clothing, and shelter using tremendous resources for everyone. We must strive to take care of the environment during such times by opting for sustainable practices.
One successful sustainable practice could be recycling. India generates 42 million tonnes of waste annually, of which 2 to 2.35 million tonnes are recycled annually, i.e. only 6% of annual waste generated is recycled.
Is there a way to scale up the recycling process in India? Let us understand various recycling processes.
Different ways to recycle waste
#1 Segregating waste
Segregating waste reduces the amount of waste in landfills, thereby saving space. Pollution of air and water can be considerably reduced when hazardous waste is separated and treated separately. Waste must be placed in different bins so that it can be appropriately dealt with. Some of the standard methods to segregate waste is by utilizing separate colored dustbins.
India’s pollution control board has suggested using three colored dustbins- green for biodegradable waste, black for electronic waste, and blue for plastic and metal waste. This helps speed up the recycling process as the stage where separation of waste is carried out is eliminated if the waste is disposed of responsibly.
#2 Choosing biodegradable products
The biodegradable waste can be decomposed naturally. It is usually manufactured so that it can degrade when exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, enzymes, bacteria, wind or water. It usually comprises renewable raw materials like orange peel, corn oil, switchgrass, soybeans, microorganisms, or starch.
Biodegradable products consume less energy during production. This contributes to reducing environmental hazards and protecting the ecosystem.
#3 Solid waste management
There are a lot of items that we use every day and throw in a bin. This results in a pile of garbage as we throw the old things as well as the packaging of the new. Reusing waste means reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.
Solid waste management is associated with controlling the generation, collection, storage, transfer, and processing of solid waste in accordance with public health, economy, conservation, and environmental precautions. By recycling waste mindfully, one can help contribute to reducing waste.
#4 Composting
Another way to reduce waste is by composting. 60% of the trash disposed of in landfills is mainly organic waste that can be decomposed in the community or homes. The garbage produced in each household consists of organic waste that can be used for composting. Composting mainly turns waste into well-nourished soil that is beneficial for plants.
With our organic compost maker, Soilmate, you can accelerate your composting process and turn waste into black gold. Soilmate comprises microbes that can decompose various organic wastes to form compost. We’ve identified a significant pain point in home composting: the emission of foul odor. However, our product has odor-bursting technology; you can overcome the nasty odor issue and keep compost hygienic and disease-free.
We’ve helped many composting communities with our one-stop solution. For composting beginners, you can check out our guide on composting.
Now that we have learned about different ways to recycle waste, let’s know about recycling benefits. Apart from reducing waste in landfills, recycling has many other benefits read more to find out-
Benefits of Recycling
Saves Energy
Recycling saves energy by eliminating the need to make materials from scratch. Manufacturing products from scratch can be labor intensive and expensive to collect, move and refine the natural resources needed for paper, aluminum, plastic, and so on. Manufacturers can produce the same products with less energy and expense by using recycled materials instead of pulling new natural resources.
Did you know?
Most recycled products use 30% less energy during the manufacturing phase.
Protects Environment
Using recycled products, we can eliminate the process that creates water and air pollution to generate greenhouse gases, which are emitted during manufacturing processes, to contribute to global warming and environmental problems. Recycling decrease the raw material needs, thus decreasing pollution.
Moreover, it saves energy while reducing the release of greenhouse gases to help tackle climate change.
Reduce Landfill
According to the Environmental Protection Act, if 35% of waste is recycled, landfill waste will decrease by 65%. This is because less waste ends up in landfills by opting for recycled waste. By reusing aluminum, paper, glass, plastics, and other materials, we can save production and energy expenses and reduce the negative impacts of the extraction and processing of materials on the environment.
The ever-growing population requires space to live and grow food. If landfills and dumpsters take over all this space, the survival of humankind would be difficult. The recycling process can help resolve these problems as no new material will be produced, and recycling can save up space for our benefit.
Let us be responsible enough to practice and preach recycling to leave a sustainable environment for the future.
