We have been taught about the importance of recycling since we were little. Yet, surprisingly, there are more benefits to recycling our waste than what we know. Perhaps there were programs established by your school or government to encourage and teach us about recycling glass, wood, textile, plastic, paper, fiber, and many more. Today, we’ll focus more on the advantages of recycling metals.
Benefits of Recycling Metals
As per statistics, an average of 4.5 pounds per American is generated per day. Imagine how huge that number would be per annum. Sure enough, recycling not just simply gives us monetary benefits, but it also helps save our planet. You have most probably seen the lines “reduce, reuse, recycle” for papers and plastic, or see signs on segregating waste. But did you know that recycling metals could actually give you more monetary benefits because it helps the economy? You may be wondering why, so let’s talk about it now or you may also click here for more info about recycling.
Economic Development
The process of recycling can be more complicated than we think. Massive staffing is needed for the recycling process to perform the essential steps carefully. This opens more job opportunities for citizens. It was even recorded that the recycling and reuse industry has 1.1 million employees, and an additional 1.4 million jobs are supported by this industry. Not only that, recycling metals are more cost-efficient than mining. This would mean that the cost of metals would drop, affecting the cost of goods and materials that use metals to lower as well.
Recycling Metals Preserve Resources
If metals are recycled, the need to mine will decrease. Meaning our limited natural resources can be preserved. There would be fewer mining sites, reducing the amount of damage to the local environment and wildlife that would eventually prevent water, air, and soil pollution. We know how chemical pollution, mining, and processing of natural resources can hurt our environment. With the help of recycling, we would be one step closer to making the world a better place. If you want to start helping to preserve our natural resources, josephco.ca can help you begin your recycling journey.
Energy Consumption and Conservation
Since the process of recycling alone would demand huge manpower due to the recycling process, just think about how much energy is needed when using raw materials to create a pure metal. Creating a virgin metal would start from mining, purifying then shaping the ore. These procedures consume a considerable amount of environmentally damaging energy compared to recycling. For example, when you recycle aluminum, it would require 95% less energy, and recycling copper would require less than 90% compared to the energy needed when creating a pure metal.
Conclusion
Recycling metals can be endless. Meaning it can be done over and over again and be a cycle. If that happens, the need to mine and cause damage to our environment could be considered as a last resort. Though some metals like aluminum may decrease the quality every time it is recycled, it won’t change the fact that it brings more benefit to the environment and economy and would still perform its purpose.
