How Does Recycling Affect The Environment?

Most people would agree that recycling not only affects the environment but it also makes the world a better place for plants and animals. For example, recycling paper products can, in the long run, preserve a large number of trees that might otherwise be used to make new paper. This is one way that recycling directly affects the environment.


Trees provide homes for birds and other animals, they provide shade for what would otherwise be a hot and dry land, and they are crucial to the oxygen/carbon dioxide balance in our atmosphere. Recycling can definitely have a positive effect on our world.

Paper is not the only item that should be recycled. Glass bottles and plastic containers have become a problem for cities and private companies who operate landfills. The sheer numbers of containers thrown away take up a lot of landfill space, which puts companies and municipalities in the position of having to take up more land for another landfill area.


Several decades ago, activists who demonstrated against large companies and their waste products used the phrase, “There is no away!” What this meant was that we can’t really get rid of anything.


We can only change its shape and form. Recycling is a way to make this change so that it clutters and pollutes less. Recycling also takes used materials from “trash” to usable products if they are handled properly.


Scientists and social activists have also pointed out that making new products from recycled materials means less manufacturing. With the correct methods, we can have a comfortable, convenient life without the pollution and massive use of natural resources that manufacturing brings.


Reducing the number of landfills might mean a healthier food chain for both humans and animals. When we place materials in landfills and they don’t break down over time, we are creating a potentially dangerous situation. The chemicals used in manufacturing many modern-day products can leach into the soil, pollution the water and any plants that grow on or near that area. This is especially true with computer parts, batteries and other items that contain certain chemicals.


While some people don’t view the world in the same way as others where animals are concerned, the truth is recycling can help keep the environment in its natural state so that animals can survive. If we continue to put mercury in our water, as is the case in some states already, not only will we have to avoid eating fish, the fish will die from pollution and lack of oxygen.


The number of large fish and dolphins affected by trash in the ocean may not be large in the big picture, but scientists and divers have found animals trapped and killed by plastic and other garbage they have ingested.


In the long stretch of time, recycling affects the planet positively because we will use less of our natural resources – trees, water, minerals etc. When it comes to the environment, using less means we have more.