Recycling: Why we need more Laurel Hess | 2nd Period | Mrs. McNees | Syracuse Junior High School May 21, 2016

Introduction My name is Laurel Hess. I live in Layton, Utah, and go to Syracuse Junior High School. I have noticed a significant problem in our society, and I’m hoping to be able to change it. I would like this to be changed in the whole country, but I don’t think that’s likely. However, changing it in just a couple local cities could be good for the world.

To the city councils of Layton and syracuse Layton City Council members: Joyce Brown, Bruce Davis, Tom Day, Scott Freitag, Joy Petro Syracuse City Council members: Andrea Anderson, Corrine Bolduc, Mike Gailey, Karlanne Lisonbee, Dave Maughan We are generating too much unneeded trash. Not enough people in these two cities are recycling regularly. We need to change this.

Garbage: an increasing problem Americans produce a lot of waste. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, America has generated 251 million tons of trash in 2012, most of which could be reused, recycled, or composted. This means that Americans could have prevented at least 97% of all waste if they had reused, recycled, or composted everything they could.

What’s the solution? Recycling. That’s it. Recycling is the answer to the garbage problem here in the U.S. If Layton and Syracuse both started recycling, it would trigger a chain reaction that would cause other cities to follow. This would be highly beneficial for not only our local community, but also the whole world.

Why is recycling so important? Recycling is important because it can benefit the whole planet. It affects all 4 spheres: the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. How does it do this? Allow me to tell you.

The Geosphere Believe it or not, recycling affects the geosphere. When we don’t recycle, most of our trash goes to the landfill. The chemicals from the garbage can seep into the ground, thus contaminating the soil. Also, when we compost things like food scraps and grass clippings, the soil becomes more fertile. Recycling electronics is especially useful for the geosphere. According to Joanna Poncavage, a million recycled cell phones can save 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium. Those are very rare resources, and they are being extracted from Earth’s interior faster than they can be replenished. So we need to be able to save these resources for times when we really need them, so they don’t run out.

The Hydrosphere When chemicals leach into the soil from the landfills, eventually they find their way to underground aquifers, thus contaminating our water supply. Since recycling reduces the garbage in the landfills, it also reduces the chances for our water to become polluted. According to the EPA, making paper from recycled materials causes 35% less water pollution than making paper from raw materials.

The atmosphere Recycling can have a huge impact on the atmosphere, as well. Landfills produce methane, which is a prominent greenhouse gas; it contributes more to global warming than carbon dioxide. If too much of it gets into the atmosphere, the results could be catastrophic. Burning garbage also puts pollutants into the atmosphere. Although the burn plants have developed ways to clean the particulates out of the air before it gets outside, there are still pollutants that get into the atmosphere from it. The EPA says that recycled paper reduces air pollution by 74% than making paper from raw materials.

The biosphere This sphere is affected by all aspects of recycling. By limiting soil pollution, recycling helps plants to grow more efficiently, thus allowing for a higher crop yield. This provides more food to the inhabitants of this planet. By limiting water pollution, recycling helps keep the water clean and safe to drink, which is very important, seeing as only 1% of Earth’s water is fresh and readily available for use. By limiting air pollution, recycling helps reduce the chances for respiratory problems such as lung cancer. It also helps to slow the process of global warming, which could otherwise prove deadly to many people, animals, and plants on the planet. And finally, recycling saves valuable resources and energy. This allows supplies to be readily available to more people, thus improving the health of this planet.

The economy Ok, I know this isn’t one of Earth’s spheres, but it is equally important. Recycling can help provide more jobs to the population, thus decreasing unemployment. It also saves resources, thus saving money that would normally be spent extracting raw materials. This decreases the cost to make products, thus allowing for cheaper prices in stores. According to the National Recycling Coalition, recycling creates 1.1 million jobs in the United States. It creates 4 jobs for every 1 job created by traditional waste management facilities.

Fun facts about recycling 1 ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy, and 7000 gallons of water. 1 recycled glass bottle saves enough energy to power a lightbulb for 4 hours. Recycling reduces our reliance on foreign oil by saving energy. It takes 95% less energy to use recycled aluminum than to extract it from Earth’s interior. Recycled steel saves 60% more energy. Recycled newspaper saves 40%. Recycled plastics saves 70%. Recycled glass saves 40%. One year of full recycling at one college campus saves approximately 34,000 trees and about 640 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone. 1 ton of recycled steel saves 2500 pounds of iron ore, 1400 pounds of coal, and 120 pounds of limestone.

More fun facts 1 recycled aluminum can will save enough energy to run a television for 3 hours. 1 pound of recycled steel saves enough energy to power a lightbulb for over 24 hours. If every newspaper was recycled, this country could save 250 million trees per year. Plastics that get into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures per year. It costs, on average, $30 per ton to recycle trash, as opposed to the $50 to send it to the landfill or $65 to $75 to burn it. 100 acres of rainforest are currently being cut down every minute. 1 million recycled laptops saves enough energy to power over 3500 U.S. homes for 1 year.

So how do we do it? How can we get more people participating in recycling programs? The answer is a lot more simple than one may think. Currently, according to the Wasatch Integrated Waste Management, only 20% of people always recycle. 60% of people only recycle when it’s convenient. The other 20% only recycle when it is required by law. There are two ways to effectively increase recycling in our local community. 1: Require and provide curbside recycling. This will get the best results for this issue. Add a small tax per person in every household so the city can afford this option. Oregon has this law statewide, according to a friend of mine that used to live there, and it has been very helpful. 2: Put large recycling bins outside every grocery store. This won’t be as effective as curbside recycling, but it will influence the middle 60% of the population. About 7 years ago, there were recycling bins at the Clinton Walmart. Since my family used to live in Clinton, we always recycled because it was free and convenient. But once they got rid of those, we only recycled paper, because that was the only thing that was convenient to recycle.

More recycling, better planet Recycling is very important, and it’s time to get serious about it. The world’s resources are draining, global warming is increasing, and the air and water are being polluted. Laws need to be put in place. More money should be going into this. If just the cities of Syracuse and Layton had more convenient recycling options, the whole planet would benefit from it, and other cities would almost definitely follow. Recycling will change our planet for the better.

Works Cited Poncavage, Joanna. "Is Recycling Worth It?." Mother Earth News 268 (2015): 65. Science Reference Center. March 2015. Web. 21 May 2016. Lewin, Sarah. "Garbage Overload." Scholastic Math 35.11 (2015): 12. Science Reference Center. 13 April 2015. Web. 21 May 2016. Bryan, Harvey. "Recycling." World Book Student. World Book, 2016. Web. 21 May 2016. “Electronics Donation and Recycling.” Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Protection Agency. 7 April 2016. Web. 21 May 2016. “Recycling Basics.” Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Protection Agency. 7 April 2016. Web. 21 May 2016. “Recycling Benefits: The Many Reasons Why.” Recycling Revolution. National Recycling Coalition. 2005. Web. 21 May 2016. “Recycling Facts.” Recycling Revolution. National Recycling Coalition. 2005. Web. 21 May 2016.