essay on how will recycling help us

Essay on Recycling for Students and Children

500+ words essay on recycling.

Recycling is a method of procedure that includes the collection and breaking down of waste material to create something new out of it. The process was introduced sot that the non-biodegradable materials can be melted or break down to create something useful. After the effects of global warming and pollution have become known to men the process of recycling has become more important.

Why We Need Recycling?

We need recycling for many reasons. But most importantly, it will help us to save our planet. Besides, recycling saves the earth by facilitating the reprocess of paper which will save millions of trees.

Also, recycling saves a lot of energy because many things that we recycle can easily be converted into virgin materials. In addition, it saves a lot of resources too.

Moreover, recycling reduces the burden of the environment. As we save energy the number of greenhouse gases and oxides are produced in less quantity. Because most of the toxic gases are produced by factories.

In addition, recycling reduces the amount of waste, that takes years to decompose. Also, the recycled material can be sold. We use this recycled material for the manufacturing of many new products. So, ultimately recycling saves money.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

The Process of Recycling

The various materials that we recycle have to go through a process that refines and purifies them. Besides, different materials go through a different process and in this topic we will discuss the recycling process of various materials.

Paper- It is the most used material on the earth. Paper is made up of two materials water and wood. For recycling paper firstly they break it down in small pieces and dissolve it into water. After that, they add chemicals that filter out the ink and dirt from it. In addition after filtering the paper takes the form of a mush called the pulp and this pulp is later converted into clean paper.

Metals-  The metals are first shredded into small pieces and then they were melted and after that remolded into new shapes.

Glass- The recycling of glass is the easier they just break it into pieces and then they melt it and recast them.

Plastic- They also follow the same process as plastic. But, the process of plastic recycling is a little bit complex because they have to sort out the different types of plastics. As there is a diverse variety of plastic with different properties.

How Can We Contribute to Recycling?

Almost everything that we use can be recycled whether it is household materials like paper, plastic, metal, glass, furniture, toys, artifacts, vehicles, etc. Besides, opt for things from the market that can easily be recycled. Also, try to use merchandise that is made up of recycled products.

In addition, sort your waste and dump your recyclable waste in the recycle bin so that the authorities can recycle it.

To Sum it up, recycling is a small step by humans to save the environment . But this small step is very effective in the long run. Also, before throwing away the waste we should check it to see if there is a recyclable product in it or not.

FAQs about Essay on Recycling

Q.1 List some benefits of recycling. A.1 There are many benefits to recycling like:

• It reduces the amount of waste produced by us.
• Conserves natural resources such as water, wood, and minerals.
• It prevents the overuse of resources and helps in preserving them.
• In addition, it saves energy.

Q.2 Give an important fact related to recycling. A.2 An important fact can be that recycling reduces the amount of waste which goes to landfills. Also, lesser density in landfill means less amount of methane and other gases is released into the air.

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• Recycling Essay

Essay on Recycling

The process of converting waste materials into a new material or object that is useful is known as recycling. It prevents the wastage of some useful materials and is responsible for reducing the consumption of the new material. Recycling is a process that acts as an excellent help for the earth's environment as it reduces energy usage, air pollution, and water pollution. In order to have a clear overview of recycling, one should give a read to the below-recycling essay.

A Long Essay on Recycling

With the increase in pollution every day, the world should develop different ways of securing the earth's environment for future generations. Recycling can be considered as one of the ways to control pollution because recycling is the key to reducing the wastage of some useful materials. Recycling aims at environmental sustainability by substituting raw material inputs into and by redirecting waste outputs out of the ecosystem. This paragraph was meant for giving a recycling essay introduction to the readers. While reading this article, one will understand the importance of recycling essays in the process of gaining knowledge.

Recyclable Materials

Recyclable materials are those materials that can be recycled easily. Recyclable material is an important topic in the essay on the recycling of waste. Some of the recyclable materials are many kinds of glass, paper, cardboard, metal, plastic, tires, textiles, batteries, and electronics. The process of composting or reusing biodegradable waste like food and garden waste can also be termed recycling. Material that is meant to be recycled is either given to a recycling center or is picked up from the garbage bins. The recyclable material is then sorted, cleaned, or reprocessed and transferred into a new material, which is then used for manufacturing new products. These materials that are used for manufacturing new products are also known as recyclates.

Recycling Consumer Waste

Different governments have established a number of systems around the globe for collecting the recyclates from the general waste team. One can gain knowledge on these different systems through this essay on recycling. The three main systems for collecting recyclates are drop-off centers, buy-back centers, and curbside collection.

Curbside collection is a service provided by the government to different households to collect their household waste and other recyclables. This type of recycling collection is mostly seen in urban and suburban areas. One may have learned about this in recycling at school essays.

Drop-off centers are collection sites where the recyclates are collected by a person and are delivered into designated containers. This is some extra knowledge that you can gain from this recycling essay in English.

An essay about recycling also describes buy-back centers. It is a center where recyclates are purchased from the customer and are sent for recycling. These centers buy materials like aluminum cans, glass, and paper.

Recycling Industrial Waste

Most of the waste that is generated all around the globe comes from industries. It is said that almost 64% of waste in the United Kingdom comes from industrial waste. Many industries try to perform recycling in a cost-effective way through different recycling programs. One of the most recycled products in industries is cardboard, as it is used in a huge quantity for packaging. Manufacturers that use materials like glass, lumber, wood pulp, and paper directly deal with recyclates. This is some new knowledge that one has gained from this recycling essay. Recycling industrial waste has become a necessary need for today's world in order to save the environment from deteriorating.

A Short Essay on Recycling

A Short Paragraph on Recycling in English

In this short essay about recycling, a person will be able to gain the required amount of knowledge about recycling. Recycling, in simple words, means converting waste materials into useful materials. The objective of recycling is to reduce wastage in the world and bring pollution under control. The materials that can be recycled are known as recyclates. This short paragraph on recycling is enough for understanding the concept of recycling.

Industrial waste holds the maximum part of the total earth's waste. So, industries should plan how to reduce it, and the best way to do that is by using materials that can be recycled. Governments are also taking initiatives to recycle a massive number of consumer waste.

The above recycling essay talks about recycling in short. Recycling is very important because it is the only way that can restrict pollution to some extent. In order to have a better future, it is very crucial to understand the impact of recycling on the environment.

How to prepare for Exams with This Topic?

Exam preparation is not complete without Vedantu. One simply needs to register with Vedantu or download the Vedantu app. At Vedantu one can find notes and other practice questions with solutions that are some of the best resources available to ace exams. The learning resources provide a thorough understanding of the topic.

Recycling is the need of the hour as pollution is at a peak, and it is very much important to control it as soon as possible. Recycling is one of the ways to minimize pollution, so it should be implemented in every country by creating proper awareness among the people and industries. The above article is the best recycling essay example to understand what recycling is and how it can affect us. New policies should be incorporated to accelerate the recycling process in every country. Governments of many countries have already started it, the faster, the better.

FAQs on Recycling Essay

1. What are the three types of Recycling?

Recycling is the conversion of waste materials into a usable material that can be utilized for manufacturing a new product. Recycling is of three types: primary recycling, secondary recycling, and tertiary recycling. These three types are involved in performing the same function, but the way of doing that differs in each case, and that is what makes them different from each other. This means, in the case of primary recycling, the same material, and the same product is recycled such as paper made of recycled paper. In the case of secondary recycling, a product is manufactured out of recycled paper which is not paper. Finally, in the case of tertiary recycling, the recycled paper is broken down chemically into such an ingredient that it is no longer paper but still can be used for a product.

2. What are the five things that can be Recycled?

The process of transforming waste material into new material and products is known as recycling. The five things that can be recycled are rigid plastics, paper or cardboard, metals, glass, and polystyrene foam cups. These are the materials that are recycled in massive amounts all over the world. These types of materials are mostly recycled by industries because they use recyclates in their operations. Other examples of recyclates are fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) recyclates which are predominantly used for construction purposes.

3.  How does recycling reduce pollution?

Recycling is the incorporation of waste materials into daily practices. The reuse of waste materials avoids the further generation of pollutants from the manufacturing factories. These pollutants may be either air- or water-borne. The majority of such waste is discharged into water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and harmful landfills. Such an approach is cost-effective and supplies commodities made of recycled materials among different economic groups within the society. A classic example is the manufacture of textile apparel from recycled plastics.

4. What are the three main systems of collecting recyclates?

The government around the globe has three main systems of collecting recyclates- curbside collection, drop-off centers, and buy-back centers. The government has provided curbside collection to gather household waste in urban and suburban areas. Drop-off centers employ a person to collect recyclates and deliver to designated containers. Buy-back centers purchase from customers and send for recycling of items such as aluminum cans, glass items, and paper. These systems of recycling collection boost awareness among the citizens to support the cause and reduce the waste collectively.

5. What is the benefit of recycling cardboard and paper?

Cardboard and paper are made from the bark of trees through a series of sophisticated engineering. The trees are cut over a large scale in plantations. The bark is extracted and undergoes chemical processes such as bleaching. Such processes generate toxic waste and reduce the green cover, whenever there is a need for paper. Thus, recycling previously used cardboard and paper protects deforestation and wildlife habitat. As a result, the flora and fauna are maintained, leading to possible control of global warming.

Thus, recycling is an important process that can help us to save our environment. It is an important topic for the students as they can write different topics related to this topic for writing an essay in the exam. Students can prepare on other topics related to this topic such as the benefits of recycling, how recycling can help to save the environment etc. Students can get suitable information on the topic from Vedantu. Vedantu provides detailed information on Recycling in a simple and easy language. Students can read the essay given on Vedantu and can prepare similar points for writing an essay.

Essays About Recycling: Top 5 Examples Plus Prompts

Essays about recycling raise awareness regarding the planet’s destruction; see our top essay examples and prompts to create a powerful piece.

An American disposes of about 1,800 pounds of garbage annually into a landfill. To visualize it better, one mature male cow has the same weight. Because there are at least 332 million Americans in the country , it’s no wonder there’s an ongoing problem with garbage disposal. 

Recycling is an excellent way to deal with this dilemma. Through recycling, used materials can be salvaged and reprocessed to create new products. However, there are specific steps to follow to recycle each material the right way. Regardless, recycling helps a lot in the preservation of natural resources and benefits many aspects of human lives.

Below are essay examples to read to know what a great essay about recycling looks like:

1. Essay on Recycling for Students and Children by Anonymous on Toppr.com

2. essay on recycling- concept, benefits & importance of recycling by anonymous on mystudentessays.com, 3. reuse reduce recycle by anonymous on essaykitchen.net, 4. recycling of materials by anonymous in studycorgi, 5. the value of recycling by anonymous on corkwritersgroup.com, 1. my way of recycling, 2. how to recycle, 3. why we should recycle, 4. recycling in different countries, 5. generating income from recycling , 6. why people don’t recycle, 7. if we stop recycling, 8. eco-warrior inspirations.

“…recycling is a small step by humans to save the environment. But this small step is very effective in the long run.”

The author briefly explains what recycling is, ensuring the definition is straightforward so the readers can easily understand it. This essay delves into why recycling is necessary, especially for its role in saving the planet. It also discusses the recycling process, focusing on common materials such as paper and plastic. Finally, the essay concludes with what people can do to participate in recycling.

“Given the fact that we are living in a world that is predominantly surrounded by a host of climate issues. We need to focus [on] recycling for [a] better, safe and clean environment.”

The essay blames overpopulation and industrialization for ruining the environment. It also mentions that recycling is critical to saving the Earth before listing five of its benefits. Finally, the author concludes by urging the readers to do their part in protecting the planet through recycling.

“The importance of reduc[e] reuse recycle is ever-increasing with the rising pollution levels in the world… With so many benefits, the human race needs to realize its significance to save the world for its coming generations.”

After an impactful introduction shifting the readers’ attention to the fact that recycling saves the environment and helps man produce without the need to sacrifice more resources, the essay goes on to explain three other great benefits of this practice. These are: conserving energy, reducing pollution (global warming), and saving money. The writer also demands teaching younger generations about the current environmental problems so they can help the older age group in saving the planet.

“The present world is faced with complex environmental problems, and there is general misinformation on environmental concepts… Advocates of environmental consciousness must strive to stop the complex explanations, and focus more on unvarnished terms which will give Americans an easy description of what is expected of them.”

Acknowledging that both developed and developing countries are affected by waste disposal, the author then looks for the causes. They start by analyzing man’s garbage disposal habits, which weren’t a problem at the beginning of time since most trash was organic. That is until the start of the agricultural revolution, followed by the rapid population increase. The essay shares studies and cites them throughout the piece as the writer discusses relevant points connected to the topic. 

“Recycling is the process of making use of waste or used materials in a more effective manner. Actually, if we want to leave this planet productive and healthy for the future generations, recycling is mandatory or crucial in [the] modern world.”

The writer is adamant about instilling in his readers the reality that recycling is not an option. Instead, it’s a requirement that we must do to keep something for the future. They mention how negligent people are in wasting this planet’s little resources, opening the entire human race to many risks. The essay also mentions recycling’s importance to the environment and the economy, saying it should start at home and, when done by everyone, will make a massive difference to the world. 

You need excellent grammar and syntax to create an engaging and readable piece. See our guide on grammar and syntax to improve your writing.

8 Prompts on Essays About Recycling

Try these prompts to jumpstart your essay writing:

For this writing prompt, talk about what you can do as an individual to help in recycling. It can be the small things, such as segregating reusable materials at home or posting about the benefits of recycling on your social media pages. You can also mention that writing your essay about recycling is a way to contribute to this vital movement by spreading knowledge and awareness.

Many know what recycling is, but not everyone understands the steps they should follow to achieve recycling’s goals. So, in your essay, explain how to recycle correctly. You can also add how recycling can be a fun activity for anyone of all ages. For instance, you can put instructions on how to assemble a bowling game with recycled bottles. Doing so will give family members something to bond over during holidays and weekends. Additionally, interview data or surveys to gather public information on how the average person recycles.

Because there are already many pieces explaining why recycling is essential, make your essay stand out by connecting it to relevant events. For example, you can start your essay with recent news about global warming, such as a severe storm in your area that affected many. Then, link your article to how recycling can help prevent these disasters.

Countries have ways of dealing with scarce resources and executing garbage disposal practices. For this prompt, discuss how different communities recycle their trash. First, discuss the best recycling countries like Germany and South Korea and their practices. Then, pick out what the rest of the world should apply in their recycling regimen.

There are many ways that recycling products can be turned into a business. From selling reusable materials like metals and plastic bottles to opening a vintage clothes store, show the opportunities recycling offers. Don’t forget to add eco-friendly business practices and encourage your readers to support those that promote sustainable living.

Although recycling has many advantages for the environment, some cons prevent everyone from infusing recycling into their everyday lives. Openly discuss the lack of programs educating people on how to recycle, why many think recycling is inconvenient, and other restraints. Remember to include possible solutions to these limits.

In this prompt, create an imaginary scenario where no one recycles. Detail what will happen to the community, environment, and nature. Aside from losing space due to garbage, we’ll also have to deal with health hazards and possibly new diseases. You can also debate a positive sequence, where people may find a way to control garbage through new technologies or operations.

In this essay, discuss a person, business, or organization that is an eco-warrior and inspiration. It can be your school, office, or someone at home. Talk about how they carry out proper recycling, who pushed the ideas to fruition, and what they do with the materials they recycle. You can also comment on what facets of their recycling program you want other places to copy or which parts they could improve. Use anecdotes and research data to support your opinion for a compelling essay.

Read these essay writing tips to use them in your writing.

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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7 benefits of recycling

We need to drastically improve our recycling habits at home, in schools and in our workplaces.  

The UK government has a target to recycle 65% of municipal waste by 2035 but we've got a long way to go to reach that goal – currently, the UK's recycling rate is about 45%. 

We need to remember that recycling is crucial to the future health of our planet. Here are 7 reasons why...

1. Conserves  natural resources

The world's natural resources are finite, and some are in very short supply.

At a basic level:

• Recycling paper and wood  saves trees and forests. Yes, you can plant new trees, but you can't replace virgin rainforest or ancient woodlands once they're lost. 
• Recycling plastic means creating less new plastic , which is definitely a good thing, especially as it's usually made from fossil fuel hydrocarbons.
• Recycling metals means there's less need for risky, expensive and damaging mining and extraction of new metal ores.
• Recycling glass reduces the need to use new raw materials like sand – it sounds hard to believe, but supplies of some types of sand are starting to get low around the world.

2. Protects ecosystems and wildlife

Recycling reduces the need to grow, harvest or extract new raw materials from the Earth.

That in turn lessens the harmful disruption and damage being done to the natural world: fewer forests cut down, rivers diverted, wild animals harmed or displaced, and less pollution of water, soil and air. 

And of course if our plastic waste isn't safely put in the recycling, it can be blown or washed into rivers and seas and end up hundreds or thousands of miles away, polluting coastlines and waterways and becoming a problem for everyone. 

3. Reduces demand for raw materials

The world's increasing demand for new stuff has led to more of the poorest and most vulnerable people (for example, those living around forests or river systems) being displaced from their homes, or otherwise exploited. Forest communities can find themselves evicted as a result of the search for cheap timber and rivers can be damned or polluted by manufacturing waste.

It's far better to recycle existing products than to damage someone else's community or land in the search for new raw materials.

4. S aves energy  

Making products from recycled materials requires less energy than making them from new raw materials. Sometimes it's a huge difference in energy. For example:

• Producing new aluminium from old products (including recycled cans and foil) uses 95% less energy than making it from scratch. For steel it's about a 70% energy saving.
• Making paper from pulped recycled paper uses 40% less energy than making it from virgin wood fibres. 
• The amount of energy saved from recycling one glass bottle could power an old 100-watt light bulb for 4 hours and a new low-energy LED equivalent for a lot longer.

5. Cuts climate-changing carbon emissions

Because recycling means you need to use less energy on sourcing and processing new raw materials, it produces lower carbon emissions. It also keeps potentially methane-releasing waste out of landfill sites.  

Reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere is vital for stopping disastrous climate change.

6. Cheaper than waste collection and disposal

Lambeth council in London pointed out that "it is 6 times cheaper to dispose of recycled waste than general refuse." So, the more you recycle, and the less you put in the bin, the more money is saved, which should be good for households, businesses and local public services.

Recycling food waste and green waste is a great idea too, often generating lots of valuable compost that can be used to grow more food and other crops. 

7. Tackles youth unemployment 

There are over 500,000 young people aged 16-24 out of work.  

Instead of propping up declining, polluting industries, the government must future-proof livelihoods by investing in more green jobs .

Right now, young people are being taught and given careers advice on jobs that may not even exist in 10 years' time. We're setting them up to fail where we could be training them to succeed .

If in doubt, remember those three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The truth is we all need to get into the habit of using less stuff  in the first place. And the things we do use ought to be reused as much as possible before being recycled, to minimise waste .

This would significantly aid the response to the global waste management challenge, which has seen many countries in the Global South unfairly shoulder the responsibility of managing the waste of countries in the Global North. The question of what to do with waste is one that governments cannot ignore. 

It's important that we combine our efforts to manage our waste with increased calls for tougher government action on reducing plastic waste.

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Reducing Waste: What You Can Do

• How do I recycle my?
• Composting at Home
• Household Hazardous Waste
• Frequent Questions on Recycling
• Resources for Businesses, States and Local Governments

Find out what you can do to help make a difference in our environment every day. Whether you're at home, on the go, in the office, or at school, there are many opportunities to go green by Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling.

Tips for Home

• Tips for Students and Schools 

Tips for Work

Tips for communities, tips for travel.

• Tips for Holidays and Events

The best place to start making a difference is right in your own home. Learn how you can reduce, reuse, and recycle materials to decrease household waste. The tips below will help you get started.

Lawn and Garden

• Learn to compost at home . Use food scraps, yard trimmings, and other organic wastes to create a compost pile. Adding the compost you make to soil increases water retention, decreases erosion, and keeps organic materials out of landfills. 
• Raise the cutting height of your lawnmower during hot summer months to keep grass roots shaded and cooler, reducing weed growth, browning, and the need for watering.
• If you need large lawn and garden equipment such as tillers and chainsaws, you can reduce waste (and save money) by setting up a sharing program with your neighbors.
• When you mow, “grasscycle” by leaving grass clippings on your lawn instead of bagging then. The clippings will return nutrients to the soil instead of taking up space in landfills.
• Donate healthy plants that you want to replace to community gardens, parks and schools.
• If you have a wood burning fireplace, save your ashes instead of throwing them away. Once cooled, wood ashes can be mixed into your compost heap and provide nutrients to your garden.

Home Improvement

• Use insulation made from recycled paper, glass, and other recovered materials.
• Clean and properly store tools, toys and outdoor furniture to protect them from damage and keep them out of landfills.
• Turn off or unplug lights during the day. Doing so will save energy and help your lights last longer.
• Storms can cause power outages. Prevent waste by keeping rechargeable batteries for your flashlights. If you do use disposable batteries, reduce hazardous waste by buying ones with low mercury content.

Moving & Cleaning

• Have a yard sale to find homes for clothes, toys, appliances, and books that you no longer need.
• When moving, use old newspapers to wrap fragile materials.
• Use moving boxes with the highest content of recycled paper and bubble wrap containing recycled plastic. Be sure to recycle packaging materials after your move. Many organizations, such as U-Haul, have places where you can drop of unused boxes for others to reuse.
• Be sure to properly dispose of any non-recyclable items that you won’t be taking with you. Look for household hazardous waste collection days in your community to properly dispose of cleaners, paints, automotive supplies and other hazardous items.
• For cleaning chores, buy reusable mops, rags and sponges. When using cleaning products, use only the amount you need and follow the bottle’s directions for use and disposal.

Tips for Students and Schools

Students, parents, and teachers can all make a difference in reducing waste at school. By practicing the "3 R's" of waste reduction—reduce, reuse, and recycle—we can all do our part.

Green School Supplies

• Think green before you shop . Before starting the new school year, look through last year’s materials. Many items can be reused or recycled.
• Purchase and use school supplies made from recycled products, such as pencils made from old blue jeans and binders made from old shipping boxes.
• Keep waste out of landfills by using school supplies wrapped in minimal packaging, and buying in bulk when possible.
• Save packaging, colored paper, egg cartons and other items for arts and crafts projects. Look for other ways that you can reduce the amount of packing that you throw away.
• Maintain new school supplies. Keep track of pens and pencils. Make an effort to put your things in a safe place every day. This will not only reduce waste, but save you money in the long run.

In the Cafeteria

If you bring your lunch to school, package it in reusable containers instead of disposable ones. Carry food in reusable plastic or cloth bags, and bring drinks in a thermos instead of disposable bottles or cartons. Read EPA's Pack a Waste Free Lunch guide for more tips.

When buying lunch, grab only what you need. Too often extra ketchup packets and napkins go to waste.

Remember to recycle your cans and bottles after you finish eating.

Work with your teachers to set up a composting program at school.

Make posters that remind students what can be composted or recycled.

Engage and motivate your coworkers to buy green products and help reduce waste. Learn more about how your office can go green.

In the Office

• Instead of printing hard copies of your documents, save them to your hard drive or email them to yourself to save paper.
• Make your printer environmentally friendly. Change your printer settings to make double-sided pages. Use small point fonts when possible and use the “fast draft" setting when possible to save ink.
• Pay your bills via e-billing programs when possible to save paper.
• Use paperclips (over staples) when possible.
• Reuse envelopes with metal clasps and reuse file folders by sticking a new label over the previous one.

Green Purchasing at Work

• Purchase recycled paper and keep a recycling bin nearby your desk.
• For information on how to buy more recycled-content products for your office, see EPA’s Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines .
• Buy energy efficient items with the ENERGY STAR ® logo or items that are EPEAT registered for the office.

Check out these success stories for other ideas.

Citizens in every community can do many activities to work together and reduce waste. Each of us can make a difference by reducing, reusing, and recycling materials throughout our communities-and encouraging our neighbors to do the same.

• Donate your old computers and tablets to a school. Many schools will be able to make good use of your old machine.
• Before replacing a computer that no longer fits your needs, consider enhancing the computer’s capacity by upgrading the hard drive or memory. This can save you money too.
• Donating used (but still operating) electronics for reuse extends the lives of valuable products and keeps them out of the waste stream for a longer period of time. Learn where to donate your TVs, computers .
• Be smart with your smart phone! It contains precious raw materials. Learn how to keep your information and our environment safe when donating your old device. Check out our guide

Starting Community Projects

• On Earth Day, April 22, show your commitment to a clean environment by volunteering for a cleanup effort in your community.
• Organize a recycling drive in your neighborhood or at school. Collect bottles, glass, plastic, newspapers or books and take them to your local recycling center or a charity in need.
• Create a community drop-off site for old computers at a neighborhood school.
• Set up a composting program for your neighborhood or school. It only takes a small amount of land space to collect organic waste into a compost pile. The compost can be bagged and sold for community and school funds.
• Hold a “donation picnic” at your local park or rec center. Participants can eat, talk and bring their old toys, clothes, books, furniture and other items for charitable organizations.

Travelers create a lot of waste, even with the best intentions. Whether you are traveling for business or pleasure, you can do a few simple things that will reduce your waste, conserve resources, and minimize the overall environmental impact of your visit.

Trips and Vacations

• When visiting beaches and parks, be sure to take back everything you bring in, so that you can leave places undisturbed and without any litter.
• To pass the time on long drives or rainy vacation days, bring scrap paper for drawing and games.
• Hot summer days make you thirsty. Be sure to recycle your used drink containers. Consider putting a filter on your water tap and refilling bottles with the filtered water. Instead of buying many small drink bottles, buy drink mixes in bulk and fill your reusable bottles.
• Share the ride and the road. Public transportation and carpooling reduce pollution.

Car Maintenance

• If you change your own motor oil, collect and store used oil in a sturdy plastic container and take it to a recycling center .Dumping oil down storm drains or on the ground can contaminate groundwater.
• Purchase extended life anti-freeze for your car. When it’s time to change it out, take your used anti-freeze to a recycling center. Call 1-800-CLEANUP or visit Earth 911's website to find the recycling center nearest to you.
• Take used or damaged car batteries to auto stores that stock or repair lead-acid batteries for safe disposal. The batteries contain toxic amounts of lead and acid, and should not be thrown out with your regular trash.
• Return used car tires to retailers or wholesalers that recycle or retread them. Tires are banned from most landfills, and illegally dumped tires become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other pests.
• Make sure your car has a clean air filter—a dirty air filter can increase your car’s fuel consumption by as much as 10 percent. Instead of sending your car to a low-value car to a landfill, offer it to a local charity. The gift will be tax-deductible.

Tips for the Holidays

Holidays are the best time to connect with family and friends, but parties and gift giving often creates extra waste. Learn what you can do to keep your holidays as green as possible.

Giving Gifts

• Think green before you shop the holiday sales. Bring your own reusable cloth bag for carrying your purchases, and try to buy items with minimal packaging and/or made with recycled content.
• Wrap gifts in recycled or reused wrapping paper. Also remember to save or recycle your used wrapping paper. Give gifts that don't require much packaging, such as concert tickets or gift certificates.
• Send recycled-content greeting cards and remember to recycle any paper cards you receive. You can also try sending electronic greeting cards to reduce paper waste.
• Bake cookies or other goodies and package them in reusable and/or recyclable containers as gifts. Homemade goodies show how much you care and help you avoid packaging waste.
• When gifting flowers, consider buying long-lasting silk flowers, potted plants, or live bushes, shrubs, or trees that can be planted in the spring as gifts.

Green Parties and Events

• If you host a party, set the table with cloth napkins and reusable dishes, glasses, and silverware. Also save and reuse party hats, decorations, and favors.
• Be sure your guests know where to properly dispose of and recycle their wastes at your party.
• After holiday festivities, put leftovers in recyclable containers, and share them with family, friends, or others. Donate untouched leftovers from parties to a local food bank or homeless shelter.
• After parties, fill your dishwasher up completely before running it. You will run fewer cycles, which saves energy.
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How Does Recycling Help the Environment? (& 10+ Materials to Recycle)

Recycling is great, and we all know it. but, how does recycling help the environment here are the important benefits of recycling..

Why is recycling important? What are the benefits of recycling?

We’ve all heard of the Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle . 

As a slogan, it’s about perfect—it is short, can’t be misunderstood, and has the pleasant ring of alliteration.  

To reduce is to cut down on what is produced and what we consume.

To reuse is to find ways to repurpose items which otherwise are designed to be discarded.

To recycle is to submit items to be broken down into base materials and converted into future products.

Though this catchy phrase makes an easy-to-live-by rule, it only makes us question further. So, in this guide, we’ll look at ways recycling helps the environment. Shortly after, we’ll discuss common materials you can separate and recycle, as well as why those materials are important to recycle.

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How Does Recycling Help the Environment?

Recycling is one of the best ways to fight climate change .

Here are a few ways recycling helps the environment and fight climate change:

1. Recycling Conserves Resources

When we recycle plastic, we reduce the need for more plastic to be manufactured. By recycling paper, we do our part to lessen deforestation and save trees from being cut down . Separating cans and other metals helps to cut down on damaging mining and our growing need for raw materials. 

2. Recycling Saves Energy

It takes much more energy to create industrial-grade materials from scratch than it does just to reform old materials and reuse them. For example, it is estimated that “recycling aluminum saves 90% to 95% of the energy needed to make aluminum from bauxite ore.” Recycling saves energy because recycled materials don’t require factories to expend so much greenhouse gas emissions than they would if they had created the same item again from scratch using raw materials.

Related Read : 15 Earth Day Tips to Support the Environment & Stop Climate Change

3. Recycling Protects the Environment

When we cut down on the amount of new materials and natural resources we need to extract from the earth, whether through farming, mining, logging, etc., we protect vulnerable ecosystems and wildlife from harm or eradication and allow them to exist for generations to come. Recycling materials emits way less greenhouse gases into the environment than primary production.

According to the Inventory of Average Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Denmark, Norway and Sweden , here are the differences in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from primary production vs. production from recycling:

* Unit used is kg CO2-equivalent/kg material.

4. Recycling Slows the Spread of Landfills

In the United States alone, there are 2,000 active landfills all full of solid waste and emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as it all slowly decomposes. This doesn’t account for the many that have been closed due to reaching capacity, or the future landfills that’ll have to be created when the active landfills become land full .

5. Recycling Creates Jobs

That’s right: believe it or not, one of the benefits of recycling is that it actually helps create jobs! A study by Friends of the Earth determined that reaching a 70% home recycle rate would create 51,400 jobs in the United Kingdom alone. In the US, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that reaching a 75% recycling rate nationwide would create 1.5 million new jobs.

6. Recycling Supports the SDGs

Our future and the future of all generations after us depend on sustainable production and consumption. As such, recycling is one of the best ways to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals .

Related Read : 15 Tips for Conserving Water at Home

What Should Be Recycled?

So, we’ve covered some top ways on how recycling helps the environment. 

Here are the most common materials to recycle and how to go about it:

1. Plastics

Plastics are the absolute worst .

Your flimsy plastic grocery bag? It takes 10–20 years to decompose.

That single-use water bottle you bought? It can take up to 450 years to break down in a landfill. 

Other, more durable plastics? Up to 1,000 years!

Plastics are difficult for the environment, sure, but unfortunately they are difficult to recycle, as well. Not all plastics can be recycled, first of all. Then, there are different types of plastics which require varying processes and considerations.

The Resin Identification Coding System ( RIC ) separates plastics into seven different types. These seven types of plastic are:

• Polyethylene terephthalate (PETE or PET)
• High-density polyethylene (HDPE or PE-HD)
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC or just V)
• Low-density polyethylene & Linear low-density polyethylene (LDPE & PE-LD)
• Polypropylene (PP)
• Polystyrene (PS)
• Other plastics (OTHER or O)

The number above also corresponds to the recycling number of a plastic, which you can most often find on the bottom of the item, along with an abbreviation (in parentheses above).

When you recycle plastics, you cut down on the long degradation time, while helping to make sustainable new products. According to Weill Cornell Medicine , “recycled plastic bottles are used to make carpet, clothing and even auto parts.” 

Paper products are relatively simple to recycle. 

Depending on your country, city, and district regulations, you may separate all paper together, or separate simple paper products from plastic-coated paper products, such as a Starbucks cup or orange juice carton. In the latter case, this is because it takes special chemicals and an extra step to remove the glue, plastic, and other residue from the paper in order to reuse it.

Glass is just about the longest-lasting man-made material, taking up to 1 million years to degrade in the environment!

If that’s not enough reason to recycle your glass bottles, there’s also the sand loss. Sand is the key ingredient in most glass, but the supplies are dwindling. Yes, believe it or not, sand is not as infinite as you might imagine—in fact, scientists are saying we’re facing a growing sand shortage, some going as far to call it a sand crisis.

The good news is that it’s one of the easier materials to recycle. First, a treatment plant sorts them by colors. Then, they give them a wash and remove stickers and other impurities. Finally, they melt down crushed glass pieces and shape them into new bottles and jars ready for us to purchase again.

Metals must be mined from the earth, which damages the areas and environments those mines are dug. 

Recycling metals can be tricky, as there are dozens of metals. However, the good news for the average person is that most metals can be recycled together, as recycling plants sort them into their respective categories.

5. Organic Materials, Food & Compost

Organic waste such as food is the most biodegradable of the lot. The best way to recycle your own organic waste is to start composting it. Compost is organic material that has broken down, and it may appear to you as rich, dark soil. 

Making compost is simple, and all you need is the passage of time. Then, when you’ve transformed past eggshells and orange peels into nutrient-rich dirt, use it for planting, gardening, or dump it in a public park (check your local laws first!). In some cities, such as New York , brown bins for organic waste are available, since there’s not much room to dispose of compost you create.

6. Electronics

Known as E-waste (short for electronic waste ), this includes all discarded electronic items, whether broken, unwanted, or at the end of their working lives. 

The hard part of recycling electronics comes down to their constituent parts—there are dozens of gadgets and gizmos on the average circuit board, made out of a variety of metals, epoxy, glass, and other materials.

However, the good news is that almost all of the components can be reused. According to the EPA , “for every million cell phones we recycle, 35 thousand pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered.”

To recycle your used electronics, there are often bins at large retailers, such as Best Buy or Staples, where you can donate. 

7. Batteries

Batteries require special consideration when discarding them, as they contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals which shouldn’t decompose at your average landfill. Though there’s a potential for great harm to the environment should batteries end up there, there is also a lot of value in recycling batteries. 

For the general public, we don’t have to worry too much about the various metals, chemicals, or battery types, such as lithium, alkaline, or zinc. Rather, just as with consumer electronics, there are often used battery receptacles located at many big-box stores around town.

8. Tires & Commercial Rubber

When a tire goes flat or the tread wears off, that’s about it, even though about 99% of the tire remains. Not only is there a lot of waste in this type of waste, but they take up lots of room at landfills, as well, with 75% of their volume being void space.

Many tires, and other commercial rubber materials, are difficult to recycle, so much of them have been burned to get rid of them, even when properly discarded. However, as technology advances, there have also been advances in the materials used for tires, with an increasing amount of biodegradability and reuse potential.

When getting rid of your tires, avoid the landfill. Instead, Google around for a recycling facility which specifically takes care of tires. If they can retread the tire, it could go back on the shelf for you or the next consumer. Otherwise, at least they’ll dispose of it in a way which won’t poison the ground and the creatures around.

Got a little time to kill and some DIY spirit? Here are some fun, funny, and creative ways to recycle your old tires .

9. Clothing & Textiles

Textile recycling, which includes clothing, rags, sheets, curtains, linens, and other similar materials, is a key way to reduce municipal solid waste (MSW). According to the EPA , the US generated 16,890 tons of textiles in 2017, of which just 2,570 tons were recycled.

If they make their way to landfills, clothing and other fibrous materials can take up to several hundred years to break down. But, recycling these textiles helps the environment by skipping the landfill and sending the clothing to plants to be sorted, cleaned, shredded, and respun.

To recycle clothing, check your local mall or retailers, such as H&M, as they often have bins where you can donate your used and unwanted garments. And an added bonus—many often give you a shopping discount for turning in your old clothes! 

10. Fiberboard & Paperboard

First, is there a difference between fiberboard and paperboard? 

Usually, most people use the term cardboard to refer to both items, but there’s a difference, according to some sources (though nothing official). 

Paperboard is thin and formed of one layer, like paper, but thicker, less foldable, and more rigid than paper (think of a greeting card). Corrugated fiberboard is the three-layer kind you may be familiar with in shipping boxes, consisting of two rigid layers sandwiching a wavy middle one for strength.

In some recycling programs, there’s a differentiation between fiberboard recycling and paperboard recycling—some accept paperboard with paper, others accept paperboard with fiberboard separate from paper, and a few want all three to be separated. 

So, to sum up on the benefits of recycling and how recycling helps the environment—well, there are plenty of reasons, as you have seen. From reducing carbon emissions to conserving natural resources, recycling is one of the best ways we can fight climate change.

Have any feedback, questions, or other ways recycling protects the environment? Let us know in the comments below! 

Oh, and if you have any recycling ideas, large or small, share them with the Goodwall community to help it get the visibility, traction, and support it deserves! Not a member of Goodwall yet? Sign up quickly and easily with the links below.

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Hi Christian, I have read your blog about recycling and it is very useful information. I would like to start recycling more as well, as I have a deep passion for marine mammals and planet earth. I am new to this but I’m willing to learn more. I have my own website as well about recycling and was wondering if we can both share each others information to benefit our communities and learn more about how it may be beneficial to many individuals. Please don’t hesitate to reach out! Thanks! 🙂

Working to bring developers, builders and homeowners cutting edge green technology would really help in our advocacy to green living. Informative article. Lets go green!

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All About Recycling – 10 Lines, Short & Long Essay For Kids

Key Points To Note: Essay On Recycling For Lower Primary Classes

10 lines about recycling for kids, a paragraph on recycling for children, short essay on recycling for children, long essay on recycling for kids, how to contribute to improve environment through recycling, what will your child learn from this essay, interesting facts about recycling for kids.

Ever heard of reduce reuse recycle? With pollution at higher levels than ever before, recycling is the need of the hour. So what exactly is recycling? Recycling deals with converting waste into useful materials, helping mother earth significantly. It helps to reduce the waste lying around and use natural resources better. This essay on recycling for class 1, 2 and 3 kids will give them a better overview and improve their knowledge. Essay writing also benefits the creative and learning part of the brain. It helps to put thoughts into words and is a fun way to learn new things.

Children love to learn new things, so we must let them have enough topics to read and write about. Recycling is a good subject to cover. There are a few key points to remember before your child begins to write about recycling:

• Make sure your child understands the process of recycling before writing the essay.
• Show them some simple demonstrations of how old plastic bottles can be made into something creative.
• Use easy-to-understand words and expressions.
• Explain to your child the seriousness of piling waste and its possible consequences.
• Encourage them to write independently after explaining the basics to them.

Looking for an appropriate essay on recycling for class 1 and class 2? Look no further as we have got you covered! Here is an easy-to-understand 10-liner about recycling.

• The process of collecting waste materials and converting them into useful materials is known as recycling.
• Japan was the first country that records the first-ever reuse of waste paper.
• Recycling helps reduce the waste around significantly and lowers carbon emissions.
• Various materials are recyclable, with electronics, computers, etc., being exceptions.
• Recycling and reusing help conserve natural resources like oil, gas, and coal.
• Recycling paper and plastic materials can reduce air and water pollution levels.
• Technology is important when it comes to the recycling process.
• Recycling creates several job opportunities.
• Paper recycling saves millions of trees, thereby protecting the earth from extreme climates.
• It is an excellent way to conserve the planet for future generations.

Teachers ask young kids to start writing short paragraphs on topics like recycling to make them understand simple sentence construction and provide knowledge of the subject. Given below is a short paragraph on recycling for your reference:

There is a huge amount of waste around us, and what if there is a way you could use them? Well, this process of converting waste into something useful is called recycling. Not all scraps are recyclable. So it is important to understand what can and cannot be. E.g., paper is recyclable, but electronic parts/batteries are not. Recycling helps to reduce air and water pollution significantly, thereby making the planet more sustainable. Government initiative and technical assistance are necessary for the efficient recycling process. Therefore for a better tomorrow, it becomes essential to understand the importance of recycling.

Wondering how to teach your child to write a short essay on recycling. This essay for class 1, 2 and 3 kids is here to help you!

Recycling is the way of converting waste materials/objects into something useful. The main objective of it is to reduce the waste around and also to reduce the widespread pollution. It helps to reduce greenhouse and carbon emissions and therefore control global warming. Recyclates are the names of those materials sent to the recycling facility for the process. A lot of things at home can easily be recycled into useful products. Used paper, newspapers, and books can be recycled, saving millions of trees. Harvesting rainwater and converting it into potable water is another example.

What Is Recycling And Why We Need To Do It?

Recycling involves processing waste into something useful. With the pile of waste on our planet increasing to high levels, the importance of recycling essay is at an all-time high. We need to recycle for a large number of reasons. The main reason is that recycling saves energy and resources and helps reduce greenhouse gases and the years required to decompose waste materials, thereby leaving a better planet for tomorrow.

This long essay for class 3 students will help them understand the recycling process and its significance. Recycling is the conversion of waste materials into something useful, thereby saving resources, and it helps to reduce waste around and help us use things around efficiently.

Significance and Benefits of Recycling

The significance and benefits of recycling are as follows:

• Recycling saves the planet by protecting the natural resources of the environment.
• It helps to reduce air, water and land pollution.
• Recycling leads to a significant reduction in greenhouse emissions and global warming.
• It helps to keep the surroundings neat.
• Paper recycling prevents deforestation to a large extent.
• Recycling reduces the amount of waste, which usually takes years to decompose.
• Since natural resources are used less when we recycle, it greatly helps wildlife and plants.
• It reduces costs related to waste collection and disposal.

Why Some People Do Not Do Recycle

Some people do not recycle, and the reasons for the same are:

• Inconvenience – People find this practice hard to follow and do not welcome it.
• Space Constraint – People do not practice recycling due to a small house or no back area at all.
• Lack of Understanding – An incomplete understanding of the process and guidelines makes it harder for people to follow.
• No Money Gain – The fact that no money is gained during recycling at home makes them not want to do it.
• Recycling Makes No Difference – People assume natural resources are in plenty and that recycling hardly brings a change. Therefore, they continue to use the resources without any care or caution.
• No Interest In Going Green  – The widespread pollution and global warming do not seem to bother some people at all. They find a change in practices unacceptable and uncalled for.

The Process of Recycling Different Things

Here is how different things are recycled and put to use again.

• Glass – Glass is shattered into small pieces called cullet and is sorted into clean, coloured, brown, and green. This sorting is important as it is permanent. It is then melted into different shapes and models.
• Steel – Using a high-pressure and liquid floating system, steel is separated from other metals and cut down using machinery. It is then melted and made into new shapes.
• Aluminium – It is separated from other metals using various systems and later melted into reusable sheets, and rolls, and shaped into objects.
• Paper – Paper is filtered to remove ink and other dirt, and then separating it into its two major elements, wood, and paper, also takes place. It is given a water treatment, and then the pulp (wet paper) remains.
• Plastic – It is either melted or mixed with new plastic to form new shapes. Sometimes plastic can only be moulded into other shapes for various uses.

Following are the steps in which one can contribute to improving the environment through recycling:

1 . Household Recycling

• Recycle different materials
• Use recycle bins
• Buy recycled and eco-friendly objects

2. Garden Recycling

• Grasscycling

3. Society Recycling 

• Community projects
• Local recycling facilities
• Cash for cans

This essay on recycling aims to help children understand society, surroundings, and waste management in detail. It also enables them to write paragraphs and short and long essays about a topic well.

A few interesting facts about recycling are:

• Cardboard boxes can be recycled at least seven times.
• 2.4 million tons of recycled glass are used to make new bottles and jars every year.
• Recycling a glass bottle saves energy to light a 100W bulb for four hours.
• An average person creates around 2kg of trash every day.

Below are a few of the FAQs related to recycling.

1. What Are The Types of Recycling?

The three types of recycling are primary, secondary and tertiary recycling.

2. How Can You Recycle Things At Home?

You can recycle by doing several things. For instance, glass bottles can be used as bottles to store milk or water, plastic containers from food delivery can be used as boxes to store leftover food, and plastic bottles can be used for growing small plants or even as decor pieces. Plastic bottles can be used as pen/pencil holders too.

3. What Are The Main Systems of Collecting Recyclates?

Curbside collection, drop-off centres, and buy-back centres are the three main systems of collecting recyclates.

This essay on recycling waste is sure to provide you and your children a clear understanding of recycling and also how important it is to recycle when the world is dealing with huge amounts of waste. Be the change you want to see around and take up recycling as a serious initiative for a better tomorrow!

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How Useful Is Recycling, Really?

Among all possible climate actions, recycling ranks pretty low in its impact.

One of the few things Americans largely agree on is recycling. This simple act is popular with Democrats, Republicans, free-market diehards, and environmental advocates alike, data consistently show. And among recycling enthusiasts, one group is particularly keen—people already concerned about climate change.

This makes a certain intuitive sense, as recycling has well-documented benefits for the planet and can reduce carbon emissions. Still, as climate actions go, even the most committed recyclers caution that this one has clear limits.

“There are a lot of climate benefits to bolstering the recycling system,” Beth Porter, the author of Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine: Sorting Out the Recycling System , told me. “But we also have to acknowledge that recycling is not among the highest-priority actions.”

Recycling does have value. It is one of the easier climate-friendly acts individuals can undertake, and it reduces the extraction of virgin materials. “Any time you use renewable resources, or secondary resources, there’s less carbon emitted than if you use primary resources,” Adam Minter, the author of Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade , an insider’s account of the international recycling business, told me.

Read: Is this the end of recycling?

Despite the carbon involved in collection, transport, and processing, recycled aluminum, for example, is about 95 percent less energy-intensive to forge than its raw alternative. Project Drawdown, a nonprofit group that conducts reviews of climate solutions, includes recycling in its recommendations for reining in emissions. But when the group analyzed more than 80 separate means that could help keep the world from passing the oft-cited threshold of 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius of warming, the recycling industry ’s projected contributions fell below the median, trailing geothermal power, efficient aviation, forest protection, and dozens of other actions.

Project Drawdown’s list centers on strategies that are feasible to adopt and have room for growth within the existing market. It gives more weight to solutions such as onshore wind turbines for that reason. The recommendations also account for recycling’s tricky relationship with waste reduction—on its face, waste reduction alone saves much more in emissions. If 1 million metric tons of waste are landfilled, direct emissions equal about 274,000 tons of CO 2 -equivalent, Miranda Gorman, a senior fellow with the group, explained to me. Not sending items for disposal avoids creating those emissions. Recycling is more complex, because the process itself consumes energy and resources. But it still reduces the use of virgin feedstocks, which Project Drawdown estimates can save up to an additional 2 million tons of CO 2 -equivalent. Both are ultimately needed, the group says.

“We analyze the impact of the integrated system as a whole, and all of the solutions are interconnected,” Gorman said.

Read: The dangerous pile-up of artificial turf

For recycling to truly make an impact, however, it needs to be more effective. In 2018, national rates had dipped to 32 percent of total municipal waste, according to the most recent data available from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—out of almost 300 million tons of waste generated that year, only 69 million tons were recycled. Paper and paperboard are among the more recycled materials, while glass has stagnated at about 25 percent. Plastics recycling rates remain under 10 percent.

Americans might want to recycle, but a constant influx of new and hard-to-manage materials in the waste stream poses ongoing problems for facilities with aging infrastructure. This can be compounded by a lack of education and standardization: Recycling programs differ wildly, and people are often so enthusiastic about recycling, they toss items into a bin without verifying that they can, in fact, be recycled.

That last problem is sometimes called “wish-cycling.” If a municipal program receives a particular item that it cannot accept, it is subsequently hauled elsewhere for disposal, creating emissions and contributing to the waste stream. Such practices, Minter noted, underscore the gap between the public’s good intentions and recycling’s real capacity.

“People just really want a way out of their consumption that doesn’t make them feel bad,” he said.

But recycling does ultimately play a role in emissions reduction, and in recent years the industry, too, has leaned into its clear climate benefits.

“Landfills create methane, a serious climate bad actor, and the less that goes into the landfill, the better,” Keefe Harrison, the CEO of The Recycling Partnership (TRP), told me. “From a system point of view, recycling protects the climate by keeping natural habitats in place, limiting the need for carbon-intensive harvesting of virgin natural resources.”

Read: A new way of thinking about climate change

A national nonprofit, TRP focuses on building public-private partnerships to boost recycling, powered by a group of funders, including Coca-Cola, the American Chemistry Council, and Burt’s Bees. Like others in the space, TRP’s message often centers on “circularity” and the idea of an economy that operates in a renewing cycle rather than on a linear path that culminates in disposal.

Climate change is a key part of that message. Since its beginning in 2014, Harrison said, TRP's work has helped prevent the emission of about 251,000 metric tons of carbon emissions, in addition to diverting more than 230 million tons of recyclables from landfills. And the group thinks that more emissions reductions are possible: In a 2020 report , TRP found that only about half of Americans have access to curbside pickup, and that many who do have access don’t fully participate.

That has led to the inverse of wish-cycling—items are being thrown away that could be recycled. Curbside recycling currently recovers only about 32 percent of what is available in single-family homes, according to TRP. If the remainder were recycled each year, based on calculations through the EPA’s Waste Reduction Model , which determines emissions savings stemming from waste-management practices, TRP has found that "would also reduce U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions by 96 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent," Harrison said.

Although industry forces see recycling as a key climate tool, others are more skeptical, including Jan Dell, a chemical engineer and founder of the Last Beach Cleanup. The chief focus of her criticism is a common one: plastics.

“Companies actively use recycling as a distraction and an excuse,” Dell told me. She sees many corporate recycling pledges as a means of evading actual climate action.

Environmental advocates maintain that plastics are largely single-use: A 2020 Greenpeace USA survey found that plastics with resin codes #3–7 are virtually impossible to recycle, because of limited facility processing capabilities and insufficient market demand. Lawsuits are currently ongoing against Walmart and Keurig Green Mountain , arguing that those companies have violated Federal Trade Commission guidance by presenting plastic items as recyclable. The corporate giants have defended themselves against the allegations and emphasized their commitment to sustainability. (Walmart said in a statement that the company is “a strong advocate for the environment” and recycling, while Keurig has maintained in court that its labels advise consumers to “check locally” regarding recycling options.)

Other industry groups and corporations have also strongly disputed Greenpeace’s report and broader thesis. Some are members of the U.S. Plastics Pact , a large-scale voluntary effort driven by TRP and other groups that aims to achieve 100 percent reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging by 2025, among several other goals. Their focus is creating a market for plastics that keeps them in circulation, rather than dooming them to disposal.

Critics say focusing on getting hard-to-recycle materials out of the recycling system altogether would do more to curb climate and environmental issues. Dell suggested going back to “core four” recyclables (cardboard, plastic bottles, glass bottles, and aluminum cans), since items such as plastic film and bags are notorious for burdening recycling facilities. But she also cited the Jevons paradox, the economic idea that increasing the efficiency of a resource’s use also increases its consumption. Rather than prioritizing fixing recycling, she said, people should place greater emphasis on scaling back their waste to begin with.

Others agree that a reliance on mass-producing virgin materials poses a far bigger climate threat than limited recycling access, or habits such as wish-cycling. Minter said that some Western countries could benefit from looking to other parts of the world where, by economic necessity, people have formed better habits around recirculating resources. Porter, too, worries that recycling can perpetuate consumption and waste. A reliance on recycling, she said, can draw attention away from prioritizing “reduce and reuse,” which do far more to lower emissions.

“I don't want people to think that what they do as an individual doesn’t matter,” she said, but added that “we won't recycle our way out of this crisis.”

That doesn't mean giving up on recycling; instead, Porter advised thinking of it as a key part of materials-management efforts, rather than a singular solution to climate change. In essence, people should keep their enthusiasm for recycling alive and active—but they shouldn’t stop there.

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Essay on Recycling in English for Children and Students

Table of Contents

Recycling is a process of turning waste into new material or product. This is an outstanding way to protect the environment and decrease universal carbon emissions. Recycling means converting waste material into something usable. Products like – Glass, paper, plastic, and metals such as aluminum and steel are all usually recycled.

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Recycling is necessary if we want to protect this world for our prospect generations. We make new products from the old unused products. By reusing and not throwing your old products, you are actually recycling. Recycling, an old practice with numerous modern applications is significant to the natural environment as well as human beings. It refers to the revival and reuse of resources from spent products.

Long and Short Essay on Recycling in English

The Environmental policy majorly includes recycling as its part. This is mainly because of the increased costs of solid and hazardous-waste disposal, the scarcity of natural resources, and the growing concern over polluted land, water, and air. Here are essays on recycling of varying lengths to help you with the topic in your exam. You can select any recycling essay according to your need:

Essay on Recycling 200 Words

It all goes back to the history of recycling. Starting in 1900, people recycled pots, pans, and other metals by melting them down. But as more plastic products were made, Recycling got confusing and codes were created. Thus, recycling codes are important so you know what to recycle. Now, recycling is more important than ever. Incentive programs are encouraging people to recycle more and help the environment. Recycling is done all over the world. In certain countries, some programs pay you for recycling products. Recycling is the third ‘R’ of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. As you contribute your bit towards recycling and making the environment clean, keep the following in mind:

• If you don’t need something then don’t buy it. By this, you would be reducing the amount of waste you produce.
• If there is a necessity to buy, go for something that has very less amount of packing, the product that can be reused or something that can be composted. Buy products that are eco-friendly.
• Try buying the products that are made of recycled material. Paper and plastic are some examples of recycled products.

Before throwing anything, think a way to reuse that item. Plastic containers can be used to store items in the refrigerator. Old items can be given to charitable organizations where they can be utilized. Cans and containers can be used as flower pots in the garden.

Essay on Recycling 300 Words

Recycling helps in defending the environment in addition to providing a lot of usable products to the community without the need for additional resources. Its significance can be seen in numerous ways. It is essential to educate the public about its importance so that they contribute towards it wholeheartedly.

Recycling is a way of doing things where we gather and reuse materials. This helps us deal with stuff that doesn’t break down naturally, like plastics. It’s especially important now because we’ve learned about global warming and pollution.

Why is recycling important?

Below are the reasons in which recycling can be helpful:

• Recycling Saves the Earth – Recycling a product can facilitate in preserving the environment. For example, recycling the paper can result in paper production without cutting more trees.
• Recycling Saves Energy – Recycling a product needs less energy than to create an article from virgin material. For example, an aluminum product uses both the aluminum and the vast amount of energy to create it from raw. Thus by recycling an aluminum item, we can reuse the metal again and also save the huge energy which helps protect the environment.
• Recycling Helps in Reducing Global Warming and Reduce Pollution – One of the main benefits of recycling is saving energy. Energy saving results in less release of carbon or greenhouse gases which are a byproduct formed by energy production, which is injurious and detrimental to the environment if released into the atmosphere.
• Recycling Reduces Waste Products in Landfills – Waste that cannot be recycled typically ends up in the landfill. It is here that the waste is left to decay, rot or decompose, and this might take numerous years to fully decompose. More and more waste is being sent to the landfills, and if recycling does not happen than the landfill might be right behind our homes in the future.
• Recycling helps in saving money – Recycled articles typically cost less. By using old material and a lot less energy, the recycled product can be sold for a very less amount as compared to items made using virgin materials. Apart from this, selling waste for recycling converts garbage into cash.

Recycling can also be done at home, and taught to the children as a good habit to be nurtured. Biodegradable waste can be used as compost for plants.

Essay on Recycling 400 Words

Recycling is essential for the environment. The government must invest in setting up systems to promote this practice. Individuals must also make some efforts to recycle whatever they can. The importance of recycling has been emphasized numerous times however still many people refrain from it.

Reasons Why People Don’t Recycle?

• Recycling is Inconvenient

The primary reason according to a survey conducted for not recycling was that people don’t find this practice as convenient or accessible to them. It means they have to take the extra step for dropping their household waste at the scrap dealer or recycling center. There aren’t enough recycling bins in many apartments or societies. Somebody who is not interested might just think there is no recycling program but it isn’t true. Recycling requires a little effort as you won’t see a scrap drop off center until you look for it.

• People don’t Understand Recycling

Another reason for not recycling is that people are not able to differentiate between the recyclable and non-recyclable products. According to them, recycling is confusing.

• Space Constraint

People generally have small houses and lack of space is an issue for many. They don’t want to see junk lying around their house where space is a problem.

• I will recycle only if I am paid

This is also a lame excuse which people give when asked about recycling. According to them disposing of the scrap does not pay them well or there is no incentive involved. Many of the people don’t feel necessary to recycle until there is any monetary gain involved in it.

• Recycling Does not Make a Difference

One big misconception people have is that recycling does not make any difference. They don’t really have the knowledge about the amount of recycled items and its quantity. People also believe that earth’s natural resources are in abundance.

• No Wish to be Green

There are people who don’t care about the global warming and pollution. These things are very low on their priority list. Hence, they lack the motivation to contribute to an initiative like recycling for a green-friendly environment.

We humans have done a lot of harm to the atmosphere over the years. Global warming is a result of our mistakes. Recycling can prevent wastage of natural resources. It can prevent pollution, can save the environment, and helps to create more useful items. So it is our responsibility towards the environment and we should also teach others to recycle if we want to save our planet.

Essay on Recycling 500 Words

Recycling includes the procedure of collecting waste materials and breaking them down into building blocks that can be turned into new products. There are mainly five kinds of waste materials. These include paper, steel, glass, aluminum and plastic. All these are recycled using different methodologies.

The Procedure of Recycling

Here is how different things are recycled and made to be used again:

Paper – Paper waste contains paper sheets, newspapers, cardboards and other printed papers used in offices, educational institutes etc. Paper is made of 2 components – wood & water. So through recycling, the paper is first broken down into these 2 component parts to reform it. The contamination like ink and dirt is filtered out. Paper is compiled and is given a hot water bath. This bath quickly breaks the paper down into tiny strands of cellulose fiber, giving a mushy substance called ‘PULP’ – basically wet lumpy paper. The paper is still dirty though. Further, it is forced into a screen where remaining dirt is taken out like glue or plastic particles. Then it is sent to D-inker where another bath is given which contains air bubbles and soap like chemical called ‘Surfactant’ that separates the paper from the ink. Air bubbles carry the ink up to the surface and pulp which sinks to the bottom. That pulp is now clean and can be formed into new paper products.

Steel – Steel can be recycled over and over again without losing any of its properties. With the help of the liquid floating system, high air-pressure system, steel is separated from other metal and then it is cut down further by Hydraulic machinery by exerting enormous pressure. Sometimes gas and plasma arch are used too. Steel is then melted down and shaped into new items like – cans, utensils, car parts, paper clips etc.

Glass – Glass is shattered and broken down into tiny pieces called ‘Cullet’ which are no longer than 5 cm wide. Glass pieces are sorted into colored, clear, brown and green color. Differentiating colors is important as it is permanent. Glass is made of Silica, which is melted down and molded into new shapes and products.

Aluminum – Similar to steel, once it is separated there is nothing much to do with it when it comes to making aluminum re-usable. It’s shredded, washed and turned into chips, which are melted in a large furnace and then poured into molds. Then they are shipped to manufacturers where they are melted again and rolled into thin sheets that can be cut, bent and shaped into new products.

Plastic – Plastic is made of one of 6 different types of chemicals – Polyethylene terephthalate, high-density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene. Each plastic has a different molecular structure which determines the physical properties of the plastic, which means some plastic is easier to recycle than the others. Plastic is made of large carbon chains so some of the forms of plastic can be melted down and reformed while others can be mixed with new plastic and yet others can only be molded into other shapes for different uses.

Numerous items, like plastic bags and food wrappers, don’t last long, but they linger in the environment for hundreds of years. When plastic waste ends up on land, it forms landfills, and when we burn it, it causes air pollution and leads to lung-related health problems.

Almost anything can be recycled and waste can be given new shape for re-usage but still there are some items and materials like computers, batteries, light bulb etc which are complex to recycle as they largely contain toxins. Hence, we must dispose of them responsibly.

Essay on Recycling 600 Words

We humans have done lot of harm to the atmosphere over the years. Global warming is a result of our mistakes. Recycling can prevent wastage of natural resources. It can prevent pollution; can save the environment and help create more useful items. Recycling is a vital factor in preserving natural resources and greatly contributes towards improving the environment.

Household Recycling

Recycling in and around the home is quite simple once you have the knowledge. By thinking rigorously regarding what product you purchase at the food market and the way to recycle them is the beginning towards economical recycling.

• Recycling different household materials – Many materials are often recycled like paper, plastic, metal, and glass. Alternative things like an article of furniture, equipment, artifact, and vehicles can also be recycled however many of us don’t typically try to do that.
• Buy a product that may be recycled – When looking at the grocery, purchase products that may be recycled simply like glass jars and tin cans.
• Buy merchandise that is made up of recycled material – You can tell if a product is eco-friendly by viewing the label on the packaging.
• Avoid shopping of unsafe material – It is troublesome to recycle the product that contains unsafe waste. Try and realize safer alternatives to house cleaners and get non-toxic products whenever possible.
• Recycle bins – Make sure you’ve got a recycle bin in your home. Keep it in a clear place thus you won’t forget to use it. Your native council ought to be able to offer you with a recycle bin that may be used for materials like glass, paper, aluminum, and plastic.

Recycling in the Garden

By recycling garden products and planting trees, you can help improve the environment in your garden.

• Composting – Composting is a method where waste degrades into compost, which might then be utilized in your garden to assist plant growth. It’s a superb way to recycle garden and room waste like plant trimmings and leftover food.
• Grass Cycling – Grass cycling is a superb approach of recycling grass cuttings after mowing the lawn. Simply leave the cuttings on the bottom rather than throwing them away, they’ll develop into nutrients and act as a fertilizer within the soil.
• Sow Seeds – Don’t throw away left over fruits and vegetable seeds in the dustbin. Instead sow them in your garden. Growing plants and trees will enhance the surroundings by reducing global warming and providing home for several birds and creatures.

Recycling in the Community

• Local Recycling Facilities – Recycling facilities are provided for community use. Verify wherever your local recycling facilities are and the way to use them.
• Schools and Businesses – These can play a vital role in recycling. Follow the recycling schemes provided by your faculties or at workplace and think about ways to improve them.
• Community Projects – Become involved in local community projects concerning recycling by donating cash or providing and implementing new concepts.
• Cash for Cans – This project offers cash to those who recycle their aluminum cans. There are over 500, money for cans sites around the United Kingdom. In India we have scrap dealers where we can exchange these items for cash. This is a very good initiative, therefore, we should also get involved and earn a little of additional cash by this method.

Following these simple steps we might contribute a little for the environment which shall certainly be fruitful in the long run. This would not only benefit the environment but also the individuals. So, before you throw something away, think first, if it can be reused.

Essay on Recycling FAQs

How do you write a recycling essay.

To write a recycling essay, start with an introduction, discuss the benefits, methods, and challenges of recycling, and conclude with a summary.

How will recycling help us essay 250 words?

Recycling helps by reducing waste, conserving resources, and protecting the environment.

Why is it important to recycle?

Recycling is important because it conserves resources, reduces pollution, and lessens the impact on our planet.

What is recycling short note?

Recycling is the process of reusing materials to create new products and reduce waste.

What is the recycling of plastic short notes?

Recycling plastic means converting used plastic items into new products, reducing plastic waste.

Why is recycling important for plastic?

Recycling is vital for plastic because it decreases plastic pollution, conserves resources, and minimizes harm to ecosystems.

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A Speech on “How Will Recycling Help Us?”

A hearty welcome to each and everyone present here. It gives me immense joy to share my knowledge on how Recycling will be helpful to us ? Recycling has always been an old practise which is passed down for generations. Well, what is recycling ? To put it in a simpler term we can say that making something new out of an old or an unused product. With the increase in environmental awareness, Recycling has become  a growing practise and more and more people have started to come along in this journey. 

Recycling helps in reducing the non biodegradable waste, as a result reduces consumption of natural resources.Reusing used products can help in manufacturing of the product take for example plastic bottles, if they are recycled and reused manufacturing of plastic can reduce resulting in less extraction of petroleum and its bi products . Which will ultimately lead to less pollution ,improve in a cleaner and healthier environment.  In a similar way if we recycle papers, there will be less number of trees cut down reducing deforestation. 

When making reusable products requires very less energy compared to making  products from new raw materials , because a new product needs to be built from scratch which requires a lot of man power and energy. When energy is cut down, it also means the amount of greenhouse gases released can also be controlled. While cutting down the amount of raw materials extracted from earth, it helps in protecting our precious ecosystem and not taking away the homes of many animals and birds. Reusing the leftover vegetables and fruits to make manure and compost instead of harmful chemicals which destroys soil and human life.

Another  way Recycling can be helpful is that it helps to reduce landfilling.All the old furniture, old broken items which are dumped in the dumpster, can be used by upcycling the furniture, which can be  later on used in numerous ways. It has also created an employment opportunity where many people who have taken it as a hobby and have also started a small time business out of it.

As there is a minimum investment required and also less energy involved , it has become an easier option  especially for homemakers who want to start earning their own income inorder to support the family. Apart from this we  can also see that  in  many major cities more zero waste stores have started to emerge who encourage their customers to carry their own containers for the products they want to purchase.

As discussed these are few of the  benefits we get by starting Recycling which is as easy as to turn a plastic bottle into a beautiful wall hanging, or using an automobile tyre to grow beautiful flowers and vegetables in the garden. With this I would like to conclude that with the increasing changes in the climatic conditions, let us all join in hand to protect our environment with small steps we take by trying to reuse as much as possible in order to achieve the above mentioned benefits. Thank you !

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Home — Essay Samples — Environment — Recycling — Recycling: An Essential Practice for Sustainable Living

Recycling: an Essential Practice for Sustainable Living

• Categories: Recycling

About this sample

Words: 612 |

Published: Feb 7, 2024

Words: 612 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

What is recycling, how to recycle, different methods of recycling, advantages of recycling, challenges of recycling, innovations in recycling.

• Mechanical Recycling: involves shredding, melting, and reprocessing materials like plastic, glass, and metal.
• Chemical Recycling: involves breaking down materials into chemical components and using them to create new products.
• Biological Recycling: involves using microorganisms to break down organic materials like food waste and yard waste.

Environmental Benefits

• Conservation of Natural Resources: Recycling conserves natural resources like timber, water, and minerals.
• Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Recycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the need for energy-intensive processes like mining and refining.
• Preservation of Wildlife and Ecosystems: Recycling reduces the impact of waste on wildlife and ecosystems by reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.

Economic Benefits

• Job Creation: Recycling creates jobs in collection, sorting, and processing of recyclable materials.
• Cost Savings: Recycling reduces the need for new materials, which can save money.
• Energy Conservation: Recycling conserves energy by reducing the amount of energy needed to produce new products.
• Emerging technologies and innovations, such as advanced recycling and biodegradable materials, are making recycling more efficient and effective.
• Recycling programs and initiatives are being implemented by governments and private organizations to increase participation and awareness.
• The government and private sector play a crucial role in promoting and supporting recycling.

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Climate Forward

‘narco-deforestation’ and the future of the amazon.

The fate of Colombia’s rainforest may lay in the hands of a rebel group linked to drugs and illegal mining.

By Manuela Andreoni

There’s a struggle for law and order in many of the world’s tropical forests, and nature is losing.

Last week, I wrote about the major progress Colombia made in 2023, slashing deforestation rates by 49 percent in a single year. But this week, we learned the trend reversed significantly in the first quarter of this year. Preliminary figures show tree loss was up 40 percent since the start of the year, Colombia’s Minister of Environment, Susana Muhamad, told reporters on Monday .

Why have things changed so quickly? Mostly because a single armed group controls much of Colombia’s rainforests.

Muhamad explained that conflicts with Estado Mayor Central, a group that is thought to run a sprawling cocaine operation among other illegal activities, were partly behind the striking numbers. “In this case, nature is being placed in the middle of the conflict,” she said. According to experts, E.M.C. had largely banned deforestation and in recent months it seems to have allowed it again.

A 2023 United Nations report referred to this entanglement between drug trafficking and environmental crime as “ narco-deforestation .” Perhaps nowhere is that phenomenon more clear than in Colombia, a country that’s both a stage for the decades-old global war on drugs and one of the most biodiverse corners of the planet, where the Andes Mountains meet the vast Amazon rainforest.

But what’s happening in Colombia underscores a growing challenge for many developing countries. Vast pristine forests are both essential to curb climate change and biodiversity loss, and they’re also prized by groups who want to hide illegal activities beneath thick tree canopies.

Today I want to explain why experts on the ground say that there’s no way to protect crucial forests like the Amazon without dealing with the growing power of armed groups.

The Colombian case

Armed groups in Colombia have long prohibited logging in the forest. The main reason, experts say, was to protect the illegal drug operations that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, ran in the forest.

FARC’s role protecting the forest became clear after 2016, when it signed a peace deal with the Colombian government, which disarmed the group and turned it into a political party called Comunes . When FARC disbanded, a local power vacuum caused deforestation rates to skyrocket as cattle ranchers, illegal miners and dissident groups cut down forests.

But as the dust settled, the Estado Mayor Central, a dissident group controlled by Ivan Mordisco, a former FARC commander , consolidated power in much of the Colombian rainforest. The old FARC tactics of restricting logging seemed to return and deforestation rates started to fall again. Until recently.

Muhamad noted that El Niño may have also made the Amazon more vulnerable to forest fires this year. I called Rodrigo Botero, the director of an environmental nonprofit in Colombia called the Foundation for Conservation and Sustainable Development, to understand what else changed. He told me they can see new roads being opened and ranches expanding in the region. Government agents can’t stop it because the group, which is estimated to have over 3,000 troops , controls access to much of the forest.

It’s not totally clear why the E.M.C. seems to have begun allowing logging again. Botero said he feared the E.M.C. could be trying to use deforestation rates as leverage to get more favorable treatment from the government.

First, they showed the government the benefits they could deliver by forbidding deforestation, he explained. And then, Botero added, it was like they told the government, “if you can’t count on us, look at what we can do.”

It’s a global problem, too

There is no evidence that the E.M.C. were successful in what seems to be an attempt to use the Amazon as a political tool. The government says it’s actively trying to arrest Mordisco .

Politics aside, what the Colombian case made clear to me is that controlling armed groups is now a fundamental part of conservation policy.

Bram Ebus, a consultant at the International Crisis Group and an investigative reporter, has spent years documenting how both drug traffickers and rebel groups like the E.M.C. are expanding their reach in the rainforests of South America in a project called Amazon Underworld .

He told me the illegal trade managed by these powerful criminal groups is no longer restricted to drugs or minerals, though they are still major sources of income. There is growing concern that criminal networks are also tapping into a vast menu of businesses to launder their illegal gains, such as illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, ranching and land grabbing.

Researchers, journalists and government officials have long documented how mining funded conflict in Africa, Asia and Latin Americ a. Nature was collateral damage. Illegal mining operations connected to conflict have been very harmful to biodiversity in the Congo River Basin’s rainforest , for example.

Colombia continues to negotiate for peace, and its Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development didn’t comment on whether the Amazon was being used as a political tool, but added that violations will be investigated and that it will continue working to curb deforestation. (The E.M.C. could not be reached for comment.) But, in many cases, it’s becoming hard to tell politically motived groups from purely criminal gangs. That’s bad news for nature and whoever dares defend it .

Many countries simply don’t have the resources to protect forests, let alone take on armed groups. Right now, one of the developing countries with the biggest budget for forest protection, Brazil, has so few officers that each worker patrols on average an area the size of Denmark, according to an association of environmental protection officers. They are now striking to protest poor working conditions .

Meanwhile, criminal and rebel groups have continued to expand their reach.

“You see that all these groups who are participating in the conflict have one key objective, which is to expand, to get more troops, to get more money, to get more territorial control,” Ebus told me. “The environment right now is a hostage of war.”

Getting rid of ‘forever chemicals’

What happened : For the first time, the federal government is requiring municipal water systems to remove six synthetic chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems that are present in the tap water of hundreds of millions of Americans, my colleague Lisa Friedman reported.

The Environmental Protection Agency will start requiring that water providers reduce perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known collectively as PFAS, to near-zero levels. The compounds, found in everything from dental floss to firefighting foams to children’s toys, are called “forever chemicals” because they never fully degrade and can accumulate in the body and the environment. The new effort will cost at least $1.5 billion per year.

Where PFAS are found: The chemicals are so ubiquitous that they can be found in the blood of almost every person in the United States. A recent study that tested 45,000 water samples around the world found that about 31 percent of samples that weren’t near any obvious source of contamination had PFAS levels considered harmful to human health, as my colleague Delger Erdenesanaa wrote this week .

Exposure to PFAS has been associated with metabolic disorders, decreased fertility in women, developmental delays in children and increased risk of some prostate, kidney and testicular cancers, according to the E.P.A. (Lisa wrote a helpful explainer on what else we need to know about PFAS .)

The new regulation is “life changing,” Michael S. Regan, the E.P.A. administrator, told Lisa. “We are one huge step closer to finally shutting off the tap on forever chemicals once and for all.”

So what can you do to avoid PFAS? The E.P.A. maintains a list of cleaning products that are safe from these chemicals . And the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit, has been tracking companies that say they are stripping them from their products. — Manuela Andreoni

More climate news

H&M and Zara are buying cotton linked to environmental destruction and land grabbing in Brazil’s grasslands, according to an investigative report reviewed by Context .

Solar power plants produced more energy in Texas than coal for the first time in March, Canary Media reports .

The Washington Post maps access to nature in neighborhoods across the United States .

Thanks for being a subscriber.

Read past editions of the newsletter here .

If you’re enjoying what you’re reading, please consider recommending it to others. They can sign up here . Browse all of our subscriber-only newsletters here . And follow The New York Times on Instagram , Threads , Facebook and TikTok at @nytimes.

Reach us at [email protected] . We read every message, and reply to many!

Manuela Andreoni is a Times climate and environmental reporter and a writer for the Climate Forward newsletter. More about Manuela Andreoni

Learn More About Climate Change

Have questions about climate change? Our F.A.Q. will tackle your climate questions, big and small .

“Buying Time,” a new series from The New York Times, looks at the risky ways  humans are starting to manipulate nature  to fight climate change.

Big brands like Procter & Gamble and Nestlé say a new generation of recycling plants will help them meet environmental goals, but the technology is struggling to deliver .

The Italian energy giant Eni sees future profits from collecting carbon dioxide and pumping it  into natural gas fields that have been exhausted.

New satellite-based research reveals how land along the East Coast is slumping into the ocean, compounding the danger from global sea level rise . A major culprit: the overpumping of groundwater.

Did you know the ♻ symbol doesn’t mean something is actually recyclable ? Read on about how we got here, and what can be done.

Understanding Childhood Trauma Can Help Us Be More Resilient

I n 2022, the World Health Organization estimated that 1 billion children were maltreated each year around the globe. Maltreatment such as neglect and abuse are types of adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs . But they often say little about how children respond, which can either be traumatic or resilient. Now, revolutionary new findings in the sciences help us understand how different dimensions of adversity can leave different signatures of trauma and how we can use this knowledge to help children recover and build resilience against future harms.

Consider Ethan and Kevin (their names are pseudonyms to protect their privacy), two children that I worked with as an educator and researcher of trauma in schools. Ethan was abandoned by his mother at birth and placed in an orphanage in Eastern Europe, his home for the next six years. He was deprived of the fundamental needs of safety, nutrition, and human contact. He had books, but there was no one to read to him. He had caretakers, but they rarely comforted him when he was upset.

Kevin, on the other hand, witnessed his father physically and emotionally abusing his mother for the first ten years of his life. Around his sixth birthday, Kevin directly experienced his father's abuse. For entertainment, and to teach him that life is tough, Dad put Kevin and his older sister Joani into the outdoor dog cage, threw food in, and forced them to compete for their nightly dinner. If they refused, he beat them until they entered the dinner arena.

Ethan and Kevin were both traumatized by their maltreatment, but that doesn't capture what was happening inside of them. Ethan had no motivation, was numb to rewards, struggled with school and couldn't maintain social relationships. Kevin was an emotional maelstrom, frightened, hypervigilant, running away from unfamiliar men and hurting himself when he heard noises. Ethan and Kevin presented different traumatic responses or “signatures”—unique identifiers of the mental distortions created by their adverse experiences. Identifying these traumatic signatures enables caretakers, teachers, doctors, and counselors to sculpt a path to resilience that is specific to the child's harms and needs and gives them the best hope for recovery, whether in childhood or later in life.

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The idea of traumatic signatures is only a few years old , but the scientific evidence leading to it is not. We have known for decades that different environmental experiences shape development, including how and when our emotions, thoughts, and actions mature. When the environment is harsh and unpredictable, threatening survival, the timing of development tends to speed up, leading to individuals who mature quickly—recognizing and responding appropriately to danger as youngsters. In contrast, when the environment is impoverished, with individuals deprived of essential experiences and resources, development tends to slow down, resulting in delays in the attainment of independence, dedicated social roles, and sexual behavior.

Ethan and Kevin, like millions of other children, experienced two of the core types of ACEs — deprivation and abuse, respectively — during different time periods of development. These differences in experience shaped their traumatic signatures.

Deprivation is typified by a delay in the development of the brain’s executive functions —attention, short-term working memory, self-regulation, and planning. The executive functions form the bedrock to all learning and decision-making, but they are also essential in supporting more specialized cognitive functions such as language, social thinking, math, music, and morality. Children with weak executive functions fare poorly in school, and are socially and physically unhealthy. Such was Ethan’s traumatic response.

Abuse is characterized by warp speed development of a nervous system that detects threats, accompanied by hypervigilance, emotional turbulence, and out of control behavior. The root cause is a hyperactive amygdala, a brain region that plays an essential role in emotional processing, and its connection to a frontal lobe region that controls our feelings, thoughts, and actions. This constellation of changes to the nervous system leaves the child in a heightened state of fear, either fleeing or fighting to cope with an unsafe world . Such was Kevin's traumatic response.

The signatures penned by these types of adversity are further modified by their timing. In studies of orphans living in austere, institutionalized settings — such as the orphanage that Ethan grew up in—those deprived of essential experiences for more than the first few years of life showed deficits in executive functioning, social relationships, and attachment. In contrast, orphans who were placed in foster care by their second birthday, largely recovered from their deprivation in the years that followed. Children who are abused earlier in life , typically before puberty—such as Kevin—show greater emotional dysregulation, weaker control over their thoughts and actions, and more rapid biological aging.

Read More: How Childhood Trauma Can Cause Premature Aging

Different types of adversity, including different combinations, pen different signatures. But ultimately, they also define how we help children recover and sculpt their resilience. Each child's genetic architecture positions them somewhere on a spectrum of responses to adversity that runs from vulnerable to resilient . Those who land on the resilient end are handed greater immunity to adversity because of stronger executive functions that tamp down emotions and maintain focused attention. Those who land on the vulnerable end are handed greater sensitivity to adversity, dominated by emotional turbulence and inflamed autoimmune systems that heighten illness . Environmental experiences can displace individuals onto different sections of this spectrum, either enhancing their resilience or magnifying their vulnerability.

At age six, Ethan's tenure of deprivation ended and a rich life of loving care started with Julie, his adoring adoptive mother. At age 10, Kevin's father was incarcerated and his parents divorced, thereby ending his tenure of exposure to abuse and starting a more promising life with his mother Kate who desperately tried to provide for him despite her own struggles with mental health. Ethan and Kevin were both on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) that documented their disabilities and guided the work carried out in their schools. Both of their schools were trauma-informed, meaning that they adhered to the 4Rs : r ealizing that traumatic experiences are common, r ecognizing that traumatic experiences are associated with specific symptoms or signatures, r esponding to a child's trauma by integrating knowledge of what happened with what can be done to help, and r esisting re-traumatizing both students and staff. Both schools were also aware of Ethan's and Kevin's life experiences and recognized that they would require different approaches for aiding recovery and building resilience.

Ethan, like other children who have been deprived of essential experiences in the early years of their lives, required an approach that reassured him of receiving unwavering, predictable care while providing strategies to enhance his ability to learn and develop healthy relationships. His care included access to a visual schedule that showed the timing of activities, including when meals and snacks were provided. Predictable access to meals and snacks, both at home and in school, rapidly helped reduce his obsession and hoarding of food. The unwavering support provided by Julie as well as the school staff, eventually melted away Ethan's distrust of others, enabling healthy relationships to grow. The visual schedule helped reduce the load on his short- term working memory, while helping him prepare and plan for transitions between activities. Stubbornly resistant to change, however, was Ethan’s capacity to associate or link actions with consequences. For Ethan, as for other children who have been severely deprived of experiences early in life, associative learning was heavily compromised, awaiting the addition of new tools to the trauma-informed toolkit.

Kevin’s signature of abuse was initially treated by a psychiatrist with Tenex—a medication for aggression, impulsivity, and hyperactivity—along with cognitive behavioral therapy to help him find alternative ways of thinking about and coping with his trauma. His teachers intervened further, providing him with frequent breaks to manage his frustration and burn off some energy. These approaches reduced Kevin’s outbursts and violent attacks on peers and staff, but he was still highly impulsive and fidgety. Kevin’s team decided to start him on neurofeedback , a method that enabled him to consciously modify the pattern of brain activation, shifting toward greater calm, focus, and control over his emotions. Eventually, Kevin developed good friends, healthy relationships with teachers, and an after-school job where he was learning to be a car mechanic. He also learned to trust other men, including me, one of his teachers, who deeply cared about him and cheered on his successes.

Ethan and Kevin walked off their landscapes of harm and onto paths of hope, equipped with skills to manage future adversity. Both lucked out with relatively resilient genetic architectures that were joined by nurturing environments, ones filled with people who cared for them. Many other children, perhaps the majority of the 1 billion who are maltreated each year, are less fortunate, more vulnerable by nature and nurture. While it is highly unlikely that we will ever flatten the landscape of harm, we can do far more to nurture recovery and build resilience if we recognize how traumatic signatures unfold—and how to create action plans to work through them.

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