"In 2013, Americans generated about 254 million tons of trash." That's 4.4 pounds per person! Out of that 4.4 pounds we only recycled or composted 1.51 pounds per person, that's a 34.3 % recycling rate! Governor's of each state should require citizens to recycle because it saves the environment and will provide many jobs to each community. If all the citizens in america would recycle the environment would be around longer and the air would be cleaner. If we don’t recycle more we are going to risk ruining the environment. "In densely populated regions, it became difficult to find sites for new landfills (dumps). Further, some worried that in addition to the obvious problems of decaying garbage, landfills posed environmental hazards,
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"The Environmental Protection Agency reports that we recycle 99 percent of lead acid batteries, 67 percent of paper, and 55 percent of aluminum cans, but only 40 percent of the rapidly increasing quantity of consumer electronics such as cell phones and computers, only 34 percent of glass containers, and 30 percent of plastic bottles and jars." (Kraft) By looking at how little we recycle we can see that we are wasting a lot of energy and resources because we have to remake the products with raw materials. Even though recycling helps the environment it takes a lot of energy and produces lots of greenhouse gas emissions. Not all things should be recycled though, "Glass is an even worse recyclable. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1 ton you have to recycle 3 tons of glass. If one includes the cost of collecting glass waste in small quantities from neighborhoods, and the pollution produced by the collection trucks and the recycling process itself, glass recycling creates more greenhouse gas emissions and is more expensive than making new glass, which comes primarily from sand, an abundant raw material." …show more content…
Through recycling and exporting scrap metal the US can make a lot of money. "Since 2004, net exports of U.S. scrap have made a positive contribution to our balance of trade amounting to more than $185 billion." (Biderman, Jehn, Wiener) In just one year the US made $185 billion by just recycling. Recycling would also provide us with more jobs. "The business of recycling represents nearly $106 billion in annual economic activity and is responsible for more than 471,000 direct and indirect U.S. jobs, generating more than $4.3 billion in state and local revenues annually, and another $6.76 billion in federal taxes. This includes an economic impact of more than $1.1 billion in Maryland alone and nearly 5,400 jobs. In Baltimore, this equates to 825 direct and indirect jobs generating more than $160 million in economic activity." (Biderman, Jehn, Wiener) The recycling business provides a lot of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity. Some people are against recycling and want to completely eliminate recycling programs. Others believe it isn’t doing anything or enough. "Some critics see matters differently. They argue that recycling is too costly and ineffective to continue, and some states seem to agree with them. They have balked at continuing even a modest subsidy for municipal recycling, saying that cities should terminate their programs or pay for the cost themselves." (Kraft) People
"The Environmental Protection Agency reports that we recycle 99 percent of lead acid batteries, 67 percent of paper, and 55 percent of aluminum cans, but only 40 percent of the rapidly increasing quantity of consumer electronics such as cell phones and computers, only 34 percent of glass containers, and 30 percent of plastic bottles and jars." (Kraft) By looking at how little we recycle we can see that we are wasting a lot of energy and resources because we have to remake the products with raw materials. Even though recycling helps the environment it takes a lot of energy and produces lots of greenhouse gas emissions. Not all things should be recycled though, "Glass is an even worse recyclable. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1 ton you have to recycle 3 tons of glass. If one includes the cost of collecting glass waste in small quantities from neighborhoods, and the pollution produced by the collection trucks and the recycling process itself, glass recycling creates more greenhouse gas emissions and is more expensive than making new glass, which comes primarily from sand, an abundant raw material." …show more content…
Through recycling and exporting scrap metal the US can make a lot of money. "Since 2004, net exports of U.S. scrap have made a positive contribution to our balance of trade amounting to more than $185 billion." (Biderman, Jehn, Wiener) In just one year the US made $185 billion by just recycling. Recycling would also provide us with more jobs. "The business of recycling represents nearly $106 billion in annual economic activity and is responsible for more than 471,000 direct and indirect U.S. jobs, generating more than $4.3 billion in state and local revenues annually, and another $6.76 billion in federal taxes. This includes an economic impact of more than $1.1 billion in Maryland alone and nearly 5,400 jobs. In Baltimore, this equates to 825 direct and indirect jobs generating more than $160 million in economic activity." (Biderman, Jehn, Wiener) The recycling business provides a lot of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity. Some people are against recycling and want to completely eliminate recycling programs. Others believe it isn’t doing anything or enough. "Some critics see matters differently. They argue that recycling is too costly and ineffective to continue, and some states seem to agree with them. They have balked at continuing even a modest subsidy for municipal recycling, saying that cities should terminate their programs or pay for the cost themselves." (Kraft) People