The word recycling has gained impetus as the world seeks to conserve the environment. This seemingly intimidating words only means that you are turning waste into a useful product. The idea is to reduce pollution and the number of resources used in producing everyday items. Recycling plastic bags is aimed at reducing plastic waste from the environment and neighborhood.
By recycling plastics, you will reduce the energy used, pollution in the environment, raw materials used in the production of carrier plastic bags and the amount of waste in the environment, among other resources. This offers incredible benefits to the environment as indicated below.
Saving on Energy
Plastic is manufactured through a lengthy process. The process of manufacturing is also very complex and resource intensive. Raw materials have to be transported from distant places and a complex manufacturing process involved. The process also leads to energy consumption and waste production. This can be avoided when you recycle plastic. The waste already exists in a state that is more advanced than the raw materials. This waste only requires shredding and cleaning, then melting for molding into your desired plastic paper or container. This is a shortcut and requires fewer resources and will, therefore, stop the environment from bleeding.
Waste Reduction
The trouble with plastic is that it does not regenerate easily. In fact, it is said that the current plastic in the environment will require the next 1000 years to degenerate. This is why a lot of plastic can be seen on roads, neighborhoods and public spaces. When you recycle plastic bags, you remove them from the environment. This leaves people with less waste to deal with and a cleaner environment. By reducing plastics added to the environment, there will be less waste to deal with in future. This also reduces the size of landfills, making neighborhoods and the environment cleaner.
Reduces Oil Consumption
The raw material for the production of plastics is oil. Oil is produced through resource intensive processes. After extraction, the oil must be processed to the materials required to produce polythene. Existing plastics can be recycled into new bags. This means that fresh oil will not be required to produce the new bags. Reduced oil consumption means that the polluting process of extraction will not add greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The existing plastics require less energy to still serve the population.
Encourage Sustainable Use of Resources
The resources used in the manufacture of plastics are not endless. Continued use means that the resources are getting depleted. This also applies to other resources in the world. One of the most beneficial and long-term environmental benefits of recycling is instilling a sense of conservation. People begin to view resources as limited and requiring conservation. This extends to cover oil and the many other materials used in the production of custom plastic bags.
Reducing Landfill
When plastic is not recycled, it ends up in landfills. Unfortunately, it does not decompose. It means that the landfills continue to grow in size. They occupy land that would otherwise have been used for other more productive purposes. It is from the landfill that plastics and other chemicals used during manufacture sip into underground waterways. This affects the quality of water underground and can cause diseases or long-term health complications.
Healthy for Animals and Birds
Plastic is light and will either be carried by the wind or float in water. Animals end up eating the papers while marine life also consumes the plastics unknowingly. This is dangerous to their health and even causes their death. It is said that in the next few decades, there will be more plastic in water than fish. This can be stopped by recycling. When you recycle plastic you reduce the number of plastics in the environment. You also reduce the number of new plastics entering the environment. This means that animals and marine life have fewer chances of coming into contact with plastics. Birds have also been caught up by plastics as they fly, leading to their deaths. Others consume food in plastic and are unable to digest or remove from the body. This causes their death. It can be avoided by recycling.
Recycling has been termed as the best way of reducing plastic waste from the environment now and in future. It is an inexpensive process that offers incredible long-term benefits. Beyond removing the waste from the visible environment, it contributes to a cleaner and safer air alongside healthier environment for man and wildlife.
