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Ryan Huneck

Prof. Nathan Hellmers

English 1201-01

23 March 2020

What happens when you put everything into one recycling bin?

In today's society, one of the biggest concerns is the environment and what we can do to help it.

Society can blame people and corporations, but will that help? People suggest crazy and specific ideas to

help with the environment, but does it work?

Before the 1970’s the thought of reusing a can to make a new one or separating your trash was

crazy because recycling didn't exist. In the ’70s people believed we would have unlimited resources and

that recycling was too much work and didn't believe in a reason to reuse and recycle. Today in our society

this sounds crazy because today recycling is such a major issue, in today's society you can't go somewhere

without seeing a recycling can next to a trash can. Recycling started in the ’70s when in 1970 the

first-ever earth day was created which sparked an interest in the environment and into recycling. The

reason for recycling is based on the thought of converting waste into reusable material, this is useful

because imagine using an old can and melting that down to make a new can instead of making a new can

and sending the old can to a landfill to rot and take up space and ruin the environment. The idea behind

recycling is to reuse instead of make new in order to reduce the amount of plastic and or other materials

that will just rot in a landfill and ruin the environment. The process of recycling can help save the

environment even if it is one can at a time right?

Many people believe they can do their part of saving the environment by recycling but others

believe recycling has many flaws and isn't helping as much as we think it is. According to epa.gov which

is the biggest environmental organization, recycling Prevents pollution caused by reducing the need to
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harvest new raw materials, Saves energy, reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global

climate change, Helps sustain the environment for future generations, Saves money, reduces the amount

of waste that will need to be recycled or sent to landfills and incinerators, and Allows products to be used

to their fullest extent. Although the EPA believes recycling is the most important, Christine Cole, an

academic from Nottingham Trent University who researches what happens to the stuff the UK throws

away says “However, we’ve been misled into thinking recycling is the most important part.” Cole

believes there has not been nearly enough consideration of the importance of the other two components of

the three Rs slogan, however. “Reduction and reuse are better,” she maintains. “We should concentrate on

those, but they’re more difficult. You can’t measure them, so they have been ignored to an extent.” I

agree with Cole because many people believe that by recycling one can there doing their part but if

someone throws something like a chicken carcass inside that recycling bin as well then all the reusable

items are thrown away and sent to a landfill instead of being recycled, that's why I believe we need to

focus on reuse and reduce because recycling isn't always recycled but if we reuse and reduce what were

using then were helping the environment and we eliminate the chance of our waste not getting recycled

and reused.

Another disagreement found between sources is the EPA states on their website that the

recyclable things are Paper including newspapers, magazines, and mixed paper, Cardboard (OCC), Glass

bottles and jars, Rigid plastic products, Metal containers, including tin, aluminum, and steel cans; and

Food waste, if your city has an organics collection program. Although many people believe anything

paper, plastic, or metal are recyclable another organization called Recycle Across America states that yes

all those materials are recyclable but many at-home recycle bins do not end up getting recycled because

yes plastic and metal can be recycled but not all plastic and metal can be recycled, so certain metals and

plastics could cause a whole recycling bin to be tossed and sent to a landfill. I think Recycle Across

America is right and I think as a society we need to work together and make more people aware of the
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different types of plastic and metals and which ones can be recycled. I also think recycling companies

need to do a better job of making sure all items get recycled and are reused somehow.

Most believe we have come so far due to recycling but Samantha MacBride is the author of

“Recycling Reconsidered” and she believes that yes recycling has come very far but the goals of

recycling—saving the earth (and trees), conserving resources, and greening the economy—are still far

from being realized. Stated in her book MacBride said “The vast majority of solid wastes are still burned

or buried. MacBride argues that, since the emergence of the recycling movement in 1970, manufacturers

of products that end up in waste have successfully prevented the implementation of more onerous, yet far

more effective, forms of sustainable waste policy. Recycling as we know it today generates the illusion of

progress while allowing industry to maintain the status quo and place responsibility on consumers and

local government.” What MacBride is saying is that many people think since recycling has reduced so

much pollution and is helping the environment people don't feel the need to change it which allows

corporations to get away with questionable acts because people don't feel the needs for greater recycling

requirements. Although MacBride feels that corporations are the biggest problem when it comes to

recycling, the Recycle Across America organization believes the biggest problem with recycling is the

lack of awareness about different materials that are allowed to be recycled.

Many misconceptions are made about recycling but the biggest one is recycling isn't worth it

because not everything gets recycled. In a blog written by Hayley McKenzie, this misconception is

discussed and explained. McKenzie the author of the blog states “RECYCLING IS A BUSINESS, AND

IT’S A COMPLICATED OE AT THAT, RECYCLING PLASTIC RESULTS IN A ‘DOWNGRADED’

PRODUCT (SO IT REALLY SHOULD BE CALLED “DOWN-CYCLING”), and The shocking truth is

that 91% of that isn't truly recycled.” Although this is a common misconception recycling is very

important to our society and is a key factor in saving the environment. According to the EPA which is the

biggest environmental organization, recycling is the key to saving the planet. The EPA states that
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recycling “Reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators, Conserves natural resources

such as timber, water, and minerals, Increases economic security by tapping a domestic source of

materials, Prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials, Saves energy, Supports

American manufacturing and conserves valuable resources, Helps create jobs in the recycling and

manufacturing industries in the United States” That being said recycling is a necessity in our society due

to all the key factors in protecting our planet and along with providing jobs to everyone.

Many questions have been answered throughout this assignment and I've learned a lot about my

topic of what happens when you put everything into one recycling bin? When asked what happens when

you put everything into one recycling bin, I learned that recycling is the most important thing when it

comes to protecting the environment. I not only learned recycling is important but reusing and reducing is

just as important or even more important because reusing something doesn't cost you money and it doesn't

cost the environment anything because that reused item won't end up in a landfill. After annotating I've

also learned once your recycled materials are in the bin the next step is getting picked up and getting

transported to the destination where the items are sorted based on material and how hard that material is.

Overall I have learned a lot about recycling and how just because recycling is working doesn't mean we

need to stop there but we need to educate people more on it to improve our society and our environment.

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