How Recycling Works - Research Paper Example

The paper "How Recycling Works" is a perfect example of a research paper on environmental studies. Recycling can be defined as “the practice of collecting the waste materials into the new useable products” (“What is recycling”). It is a very simple process wherein the waste is collected and processed into something useful rather than being wasted (“Recycling”). Like the name indicates, recycling gives rebirth to a product so that it may be put to use again after it has completed its first life of use.

The concept of recycling fundamentally emerges from the notion, “If we don’t burn it, we may have to bury it” (Griff). Either way, it is a burden upon the environment. If we burn the garbage, we are essentially releasing lots of carbon in the environment and are thus, adding to global warming. If we bury the garbage, we are wasting the natural resources as well as our energies. There has to be a better alternative solution that is environmentally friendly and also conducive for sustainable development.

That happens to be recycling! Recycling is the fundamental need of the present age in which we are too concerned about making the development sustainable. The rapidly extinguishing natural resources imply that we take care of the existing resources through such practices as recycling. “Recycling your waste fridge, TV or lawnmower does not cost you a penny in council tax – in fact, it saves money by avoiding expensive landfill charge” (Wall cited in “Your guide to recycling” 11).

Recycling requires a mechanical operation. Long story short, garbage from everywhere is collected by dumpers and thrown at a certain location. The garbage pile is transported to the factory wherein the machines separate things made up of a particular material from those made of different materials. Hence, paper products are separated from the plastic and glass products. Each kind of material is then separately processed into the machine. The machines clean and refine the products. Products made of different materials are stockpiled separately for reuse.

Recycling programs are of four main types; buy-back centers, drop-off centers, deposit/refund programs, and curbside pickups. The buy-back centers purchase scrap materials from people. The drop-off centers receive recyclable materials from people. People personally visit these drop-off centers and deliver their garbage. The deposit/refund programs charge the customers the cost of a can that is refunded to them upon its return. Curbside pickups are trucks that have separate containers to collect all sorts of materials.

They travel around the town to collect the garbage. Some communities oblige people to separate materials of different types in different baskets to facilitate the curbside pickup service. Recycling does not necessarily reproduce the material for use in the same product. In fact, a material undergoes such a complex system during the process of recycling that it hardly ever is able to be used as the product from which it was originally extracted (Grabianowski). The paper that had previously been the magazine cover may later be used as a page in a rough-book.

The plastic that had previously been the arm of a Barbie doll may later become the wrapper of a toffee box. The future of our planet depends to such an extent upon the way recycling interacts with the environment. This may have an immense influence on our politics, economy, and behavior. Owing to the benefits of recycling, people should be encouraged to participate in this practice wholeheartedly. “Even if you don’t want it, maybe there’s someone else who does” (“Your guide to recycling” 7).