The benefits of recycling The most important are related to the conservation of the environment and the reduction of pollution. Recycling consists of introducing materials that have already been used in production back into the production cycle.
Currently, the dominant economic model is linear, natural resources are extracted, processed to generate products and services and later discarded. This scheme represents an unavoidable path towards the depletion of natural resources and the deterioration of the environment that is unsustainable..
Therefore, a paradigm shift is necessary towards sustainable development that promotes a balance between the ecological, social and economic in the framework of a circular economy. This economy is based on a cyclical system that makes efficient use of resources with the least generation of waste.
Recycling is a fundamental piece in the construction of this sustainable development and of the circular economy. If we consider the benefits of recycling in society, we will understand its relevant role in achieving a social system friendly to nature..
These benefits are social, cultural and economic, including generating less garbage and consuming fewer natural resources, which implies less impact on biodiversity. On the other hand, better public health, energy savings, decrease global warming, save money and generate employment are achieved..
On the ethical and cultural level, recycling benefits society by highlighting intergenerational responsibility and fostering creativity.
Among the main pollutants are plastic and electronic waste, the former are not biodegradable and the latter contaminate with heavy metals. Garbage pollutes drinking water, soil and air, affects biodiversity and generates public health problems.
The first benefit of recycling in society is the reduction of garbage, that is, solid waste derived from products already consumed. This is because to the extent that said waste is used, it ceases to be garbage to become raw material again..
In the case of non-renewable resources, the problem is more serious, since their increasing consumption implies their inevitable depletion. However, renewable resources are also affected as increasing demand puts pressure on their renewal rate..
Therefore, this development path implies the total depletion of the basic resources for sustaining life on Earth..
Recycling replaces the virgin raw material that should be extracted from its natural sources with raw material derived from consumption. This undoubtedly reduces the pressure on natural resources..
Heavy metals released from electronic components, dioxins released from incinerated plastics, and other toxins pollute water. This negatively affects both freshwater and marine life..
On the other hand, soil contamination decreases its ability to support plant life and directly and indirectly affects animal life..
One of the benefits of recycling in society is the protection of biodiversity, since recycling reduces the pressure on ecosystems. Currently the garbage thrown into the environment deteriorates living conditions by generating ecological imbalances.
Trash piles are an environment conducive to the development of disease-causing pests. Rodents and insects that carry infectious-contagious diseases as well as pathogenic bacteria and protozoa develop in garbage dumps..
Recycling, by reducing the waste that ends up in landfills, contributes to reducing the proliferation of these pests.
Production processes consume large amounts of energy, especially those derived from fossil fuels. This in turn implies great economic costs as well as the generation of environmental impact derived from the emission of gases..
Recycling uses materials that have already covered a good part of the production process, in which a significant amount of energy was used. Therefore, recycling implies avoiding the use of that energy that would otherwise be necessary to consume..
For example, by recovering the gold contained in electronic components, the energy expenditure used in its extraction and refining from nature is avoided..
In their production processes, industries emit greenhouse gases such as CO2, nitrogen oxides, hydrofluorocarbons, chlorofluorocarbons, among others..
Recycling a material avoids repeating the industrial process that was carried out to obtain it and that involved the emission of greenhouse gases. In this sense, one of the benefits of recycling in society is to help reduce global warming..
In economic terms, a clearly quantifiable benefit of recycling in society is saving money. This is due to the fact that by reducing the extraction of raw materials, certain industrial processes are avoided so that the monetary investment decreases.
On the other hand, garbage management represents the investment of considerable economic resources, which are saved when the generation of waste decreases. In addition, public finances are saved in addressing the health problems generated by garbage.
For example, paper represents 17% of garbage and recycling it represents a considerable saving in the investment required for its production. To produce new paper it is necessary to establish tree plantations and process them to obtain the pulp, which generates CO2 emissions and other toxic products..
Recycling is a fundamental part of a new economic paradigm, the so-called circular economy. Therefore, its implementation requires the promotion of new processes that in turn imply new opportunities to create companies..
In fact, more and more companies are emerging around recycling, either to classify and collect waste, process it or create new products. All this promotes the development and generation of new job opportunities.
One of the dilemmas posed by the current social development scheme is the responsibility towards future generations. In environmental terms, future generations are inheriting a polluted planet, endangering their survival.
In addition, the current consumption rates of non-renewable resources implies the possibility that some will be depleted in the current generation..
Among the benefits of recycling in society is then to manifest a principle of responsibility of current generations towards future ones..
Recycling is part of a whole philosophy that has as its center a harmonious development with nature, which represents a creative challenge. Recycling implies breaking with the traditional consumerist scheme that tacitly denies the finite nature of resources.
For this, it is necessary to innovate in all fields, in order to achieve new ways of taking advantage of what exists and producing. In this sense, recycling is manifested in new technologies for the recovery of materials, new construction materials and even in art and decoration.
Recycling can lead directly to reducing deforestation; for example, to produce paper it is necessary to cut down trees, among other products.
Plastic is the material that characterizes the current era, durable, versatile and economical in terms of production. But its high durability is its main problem, since it is a material whose degradation takes thousands of years..
In addition, because of its relative low cost and being so moldable, it is used for multiple purposes and is produced in huge quantities..
One of the most common uses is as a food and beverage container as well as disposable tableware. The problem is that once these products are consumed and discarded, plastic pollutes the environment for many years.
This is because most of these materials are obtained from fossil fuels and are not biodegradable. Plastics represent 12% of the planet's garbage, only surpassed by organic waste and paper.
Plastic waste is the main pollutant of rivers and oceans and in the latter large islands of floating garbage have been formed, made up mainly of plastic..
It is estimated that annually about 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans, posing a serious threat to aquatic life. On the other hand, when they are incinerated in landfills, they emit gases and polluting substances such as CO2 and dioxins..
The recycling and reuse of plastic products reduces the amount of them that is introduced into natural environments. This brings various environmental, economic and social benefits.
Ecoembes has recycled 22.2 million plastic containers since 1998, generating 42,600 jobs and saving 52.2 million Mwh of energy. In addition, 21.8 million tons of CO2 were no longer emitted into the atmosphere and a saving of 488.8 million m3 of water has been achieved..
According to a report by the UN (United Nations Organization), in 2018 45.8 million tons of electronic waste were generated. It is necessary to take into account that in the construction of a mobile phone around 23 different minerals are used, in addition to the plastic material.
The heavy metals and plastic that make up electronic devices spread into ecosystems once the equipment is discarded. It is estimated that 70% of the heavy metals that exist in landfills in the United States come from electronic waste.
Brominated flame retardants and batteries incorporated into equipment are some of the most life-threatening components. All these materials are highly residual and toxic to both wildlife and humans..
Only 20% of electronic waste is recycled globally, but it is a growing activity. There are some important initiatives in this regard, such as the recycling of mobile phones carried out by Apple.
Since 2016 this company has used high technology to disassemble discarded mobile phones, in order to recover their components and reuse them. In the first instance, the iPhone 6 mobile phone disassembling robot (called Liam) was put into operation.
This robot disassembles the discarded mobile and separates the reusable components at a speed of 60 devices per hour. For 2018, an even more efficient disassembly robot was incorporated, the Daisy, which is capable of disassembling 200 iPhones per hour..
In this way, a large number of components that can be reused as well as materials that can be recycled are recovered..
An example of recovering valuable metals from recycling electronic devices is obtaining gold from mobile phones. For this, technological innovations are generated such as at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) where a chemical technique was developed that separates gold from other metals in recycled mobiles..
With this technique, up to 1/3 of a gram of gold can be recovered for each mobile phone processed. Taking into account that annually about 4,500 million mobile phones are discarded, more than a million kilos of gold can be recovered.
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