The most recent issue humanity is faced with is climate change. Even if natural processes affect the earth’s condition, like variations in solar activity and changes in the planet’s orbit and rotation, nothing’s more damaging than greenhouse gas emissions. This factor makes the planet warmer by trapping the heat created as a result of human activities, like burning fossil fuels for electricity, transportation and agriculture practices.
Luckily, people are becoming more aware of the situation and are taking action by militating for standards and rules meant to take care of the environment. Therefore, more companies choose to implement wind and solar panels, efficient energy in appliances and protecting forests. If you’re wondering what you can do to become environmentally responsible, here are some tips on recycling correctly and why it’s important to do so.
The impact of climate change on our planet
Maybe you’ve wondered why the seasons are becoming more intense or why the weather is unstable. Well, greenhouse gases, aerosol emissions and deficient land use are the main drivers of climate change. Most of these issues are the aftermath of human behaviours, like deforestation, burning coal, oil and gas, using nitrogen-based fertilisers and certain equipment and products that emit fluorinated gases (common in cars and light vans). These repeated actions through the years have led to:
- Extreme weather (intense heat waves and heavy rainfalls)
- Rising sea levels influence storms, hurricanes and typhoons. At the same time, the marine environment is affected by saltwater intrusions.
- Melting sea ice from the polar regions that impacts the temperature destabilisation and the survival of polar animals.
- Warmer land and air. Temperature changes are causing the spread of pests and diseases and affecting people’s health.
But that doesn’t stop there. The risk of water supplies is increasing in some areas, while localised flooding is causing property damages and loss of livestock and human life. Besides the obvious issues of gas emissions on the planet, your health is also severely affected, even if you’re not aware of it. Exposure to extreme weather events, heat stress and poor air and water quality, can lead to respiratory illnesses, waterborne diseases and malnutrition.
The impact industries have on climate change
Recycling alone might not be a sufficient method to stop global warming, because industries are more harmful for the environment. The sectors that are contributing to greenhouse gas emissions are:
- Energy (electricity, heat and transportation)
- Industrial processes
- Waste
- Agriculture, forestry and land use
The last two factors can be changed if people adjust their behaviours and become more aware, but the energy industry is challenging to control by contributing 73.2% to climate change. This includes manufacturing iron and steel, which are materials used in almost every product made, from construction materials to medical equipment. Then, chemical and petrochemical processes are related to fertilisers manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, refrigerants, etc.
Stopping these mechanisms would be impossible, but there are solutions to minimise waste, from providing the waste balers and compactors that reduce the volume of materials through compression. Alternatively, changing the raw material sourcing to more sustainable materials can also positively impact the environment. For example, instead of wood used in building and construction, lumber is a great alternative, as it’s a natural insulation alternative, it helps reduce carbon emissions and has the benefit of less construction time and labour costs.
How to recycle the most common materials
Sometimes it’s challenging to separate products in the specified bins because nowadays, more than one material is put into manufacturing goods. To ensure that you’re recycling correctly, the package should guide you on where to place it. So, here are some tips to consider next time you’re throwing out the garbage.
- First, you can’t recycle all products, only if they have a Mobius loop logo on their packages (found on most plastic bottles, paper waste and glass).
- Some waste needs to be rinsed or cleaned before throwing it away. Otherwise, it can be impossible to be recycled due to the risk of contamination (cans, shampoo bottles and food containers). A similar loop will be displayed on the package, with a rinse instruction.
- Plastic waste can vary, as there are more forms of plastic (PETE, HDPE, PVC, etc.). Each plastic product will have a certain number classification and abbreviation, so you know where to separate them.
- Aluminium products also need to be put in separate bins. You’ll see a circled symbol with the abbreviation ALU on it.
Benefits of recycling
Now that you know about the impact of excessive and irresponsible behaviours on the planet, it’s time to start recycling. If you don’t know what its benefits of it are, here are five reasons to be environmentally responsible:
- You’ll help in preventing pollution. Recycling can reduce the need for refining and processing raw materials that are causing air and water contamination. In the UK, the air pollution caused by ozone has an increasing trend in both rural and urban sites. Therefore the air you’re breathing is infected with many damaging gases.
- You’ll conserve natural resources. Protecting natural habitats by conserving more raw materials will slow down the waste of soil, water, materials and fossil fuels which are limited resources.
- You’ll reduce the waste eliminated in landfills and incinerators. Toxins, leachate and greenhouse gases come from all the rubbish from landfills, which also breaks down at a slow rate.
- Recycling creates more jobs. This action requires many steps to be done correctly, like processing and preparing materials and manufacturing and reusing materials. In fact, sustainable development can create 60 million jobs around the world, as waste pickers provide essential services to the community, even if they are working in dangerous conditions.
To sum it up, there are plenty of actions that need to be conducted in order to save the environment. Even if your possibilities are narrow, there are some things you could do in this regard, like recycle and reuse the products when possible. Choose public transport and always be aware of the impacts of your products. Lastly, improve your habits and always look for the newest recycling practices.
