Recycling our waste has been around for quite some time, making its way into city policies as well as businesses and homes pretty much everywhere in the world. But even though there’s still plenty to do to reduce and hurt our planet less, having the chance to also purchase already recycled products is a big step in the right direction. Here we go through why shopping for recycled products is better for our environment.
Little Chilean
Recently I bumped into some memes on a social platform joking about recycled products being just as harmful to our planet as single-use plastic. It made me think...
I realized that even though the picture was funny and, being honest, reducing completely the use of harmful materials like plastic would clearly be the best option, I can not see shopping for a recycled plastic product as bad as a single-use one. Can you?
On another note, throughout the last years of the pandemic, we saw a massive return worldwide of single-use products, including, yes, plastic and paper. The concerns for everyone’s health, lack of information about the virus and its effects, plus the hardships on everyone’s finances forced many businesses worldwide to avoid anything that could’ve been in contact with a possible infected person, hence, welcome back single-use products and press pause on reusable items.
Now that, for many, the pandemic is a residing problem, we can find all kinds of products being offered as “made with recycled…”, addressing all of those guilty souls too concerned for what we’ve been doing and consuming the past 2 years.
This, even though far from a solution, it’s a very interesting approach. One that I hope we get to see more of, and in many materials like all types of plastic and paper-based products. Why? Let me tell you. Here are 5 very good reasons why choosing a recycled product is better for the environment.
Why choosing a recycled product is better for the environment
1. It Saves Energy
It takes far less energy, for example, to recycle an aluminum can then to create a new one. “About 95% less energy, to be exact. Ask yourself just how many soda cans you toss per week. Each thrown item represents wasted energy that can be better put to use elsewhere”, according to Consolidated Resources.
2. Buying Recycled Products Uses Less Resources From The Earth
As you might already know, some resources are simply limited. So, every time a new product is created it uses the same amount of materials. When we recycle, a big part of this process is skipped, so, fewer resources are gone.
3. It Helps Save Water
“Did you know that to produce a dollar’s worth of paper, from raw lumber, takes more than 6 gallons of water?” According to Plastic for change. But on the other hand, if we buy a pound of recycled paper, we’re helping to save approximately 3 gallons of water.
On top of that, when it comes to paper communications, recycled paper is the greenest option all in all. “It uses less energy, and water, and produces lower carbon emissions than the manufacturing of non-recycled paper and, at the same time reduces the amount of waste to landfill – as paper can be recycled 4 to 5 times. With advances in technology and processes, recycled paper is now as white and has the same print performance as non-recycled paper”, as explained by Recycled papers UK.
And it’s also the reason why here at Life Lovers Magazine we’ve made the change and are now so happy to be able to say that our print issue’s pages are made with recycled natural paper. Have you felt the difference? Order your hard copy here and enjoy it anywhere in the world.
4. Buying Recycled Products Keeps Our Landfills from Overflowing
Now, in terms of visible benefits, this one is the biggest one. As you may know and have even seen, a huge part of our waste goes into massive landfills hardly ever far away enough. As we might also be able to guess, our waste is constantly growing, which means these town-size trash bins are being overused.
On the other hand, when we buy items that are recycled–even some over and over again–, it frees up land space where the products might otherwise be tossed. If our plastic bottle goes straight to a recycling line, it skips the landfills, allowing for a bit of much-needed space.
5. Buying Recycled Products Sets a Good Environmental Example
Sometimes, we do the right thing, simply because it’s the right thing to do. This reason is just not that complicated.
We all know that a company’s main reason to exist is to make money, regardless of its vision or the products involved. So, if we stick to this very basic approach, we can understand that If customers don’t buy a product, it will make it very hard for it to stay alive.
So, when there’s a demand for recycled products, it “encourages manufacturers to participate in an environmentally healthy effort. If the items are good enough for your pocketbook, they’re definitely good enough for companies to create”, Consolidated Resources explains.
At the end of the day, the ideal would be to consume less. So, in any case, we would like to promote shopping more, but to choose a recycled option when shopping. Remember that every little step is already a great help. Or, as Anne-Marie Bonneau likes to put it and how we love to quote it: “we don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly”.
And you, which recycled alternative will you be choosing next?
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