Yaleska Cortorreal

Division of Humanities and the Arts

ENGL 21003: Writing for the Sciences

Professor Debra Williams

October 16th, 2024

Do you remember being locked in your room in 2020, scrolling through TikTok seeing females and males post videos about “save the turtles” and “no more plastic straws!”.  During the pandemic, recycling started to spread worldwide about its concerns not only because social media was most of people’s entertainment during the pandemic but because the community wasn’t recycling causing sea animals to die from pollution and waste. Recycling is important to our environment due to the fact that it can reduce toxic emissions from greenhouse gases, reduce air pollution by reducing waste, increase benefits toward our economy, such as generate jobs and save energy, and lasty it can provide sustainably, which generates wellness.  

Some critics may argue that recycling is as harmful as not recycling. They’re reasoning is because energy and emissions are still being used in recycling facilities to process the used material and not only that put most of the recycled material is considered as waste because people who recycle can mix the recycle goods with waste causing the recycle goods to be toxic. “… manufacturers maintain that it is more cost-effective to create new plastic and paper products. In situations in which it is cheaper to create new products rather than recycle used ones, fewer recyclables will be repurposed, and most will likely be treated as garbage” (Gale 2022). To add, in an article I read they had said that recycling programs are expensive and not all areas can afford the programs leaving disadvantages to poor communities, “Some towns and cities say they can’t afford to operate recycling programs” (SmartAsset 2022). Although all these arguments are true it doesn’t take away from the fact that recycling will be a positive impact towards our ecosystem because not only will it benefit us today, but it will benefit the future ten times more. 

Recycling can have a significant impact on ecosystem, in terms like environmental protection, social equity, and environmental justice. In environmental protection recycling conserves natural recourses and reduces pollution. Material like metal, plastic, and paper are mostly the materials that are being recycled and when those materials are produced as new sources instead of being reused, it diminishes the potential benefits to our ecosystem, “To generate the textile from scratch would mean harvesting the cotton or linen crop or manufacturing the synthetic fabric. But if the same company uses recycled textiles, it can cut out that first step of the manufacturing process, saving energy as a result” (SmartAsset 2022). Using recycled materials requires less energy which leads to a decrease in greenhouse gas emission. Recycling also lessens the amount of garbage that is dumped in landfills, which helps avoid contamination of the land and water. 

In social equity, recycling has the potential to create economic opportunities. Recycling facilities, industries or programs generate jobs from collection, sorting, processing and manufacturing “Not only does recycling reduce landfill waste and greenhouse gases, but it also creates the opportunity for additional job industries and overall strengthens our economy. According to, “More Jobs, Less Pollution” if 75% of the nation recycled, there would be 2.3 million more jobs available” (CleanRiver). These types of jobs have an opportunity to increase employment in poor neighborhoods, “Recycling can be a source of good, middle-class jobs for people without a lot of education under their belt.” (SmartAsset 2022). Recycled materials can also reduce production costs, increasing the affordability of goods for people who are in different levels financially. Recycling also is involved with environmental justice by reducing some of the unnecessary environmental loads that certain communities must face. These communities frequently reside close to burning facilities or landfills, putting them at risk for pollution-related illnesses. Recycling can enhance the quality of life in these communities by lowering the dependency on these trash disposal practices. 

In conclusion, the importance of recycling became more obvious during the 2020 pandemic, when TikTok were flooded with videos and messages like “save the turtles” and “no more plastic straws.” This awareness highlighted the growing concern over people not recycling because of pollution and waste, especially as sea animals continued to suffer due to a lack of proper recycling practices. Recycling remains crucial to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, minimizing air pollution, supporting economic growth by creating jobs, saving energy, and fostering sustainability, which ultimately contributes to the well-being of both the environment and society.

Citations:

Gale, part of Cengage Group. (2022). Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Recycling.pdf

SmartAsset. (2022, February 28). The pros and cons of recycling.https://smartasset.com/insights/the-pros-and-cons-of-recycling

Clean Choice Energy. (n.d.). Recycling 101: Understanding the basics of recycling. Clean Choice Energy. https://cleanchoiceenergy.com/news/recycling-101?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=search_g_dsa_2024_full_funnel&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADquY4lq0XibY3smF3qTebFqhqgTo&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgrO4BhC2ARIsAKQ7zUlS0XZzphdfvcDSLL6xduOvSfXJl-hmobhHyUh4RwJMgU9LzqDA7qsaAtmGEALw_wcB

Resource Recycling. (n.d.). Coronavirus. Resource Recycling. Retrieved October 14, 2024, from https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/news/topics/coronavirus/

CleanRiver. (n.d.). How recycling creates new job opportunities. CleanRiver Recycling Solutions. https://cleanriver.com/resource/bloghow-recycling-creates-new-job-opportunities/