Discussion 6: Pros and Cons of Recycling

Summary of Article:

Recycling, in simple terms, means to reuse waste in different ways. Many materials can be recycled, and recycling has become a global trend and practice. Although recycling seems like a good deed that may compensate for the damage we've done to our plant, recycling comes with its own sets of environmental issues.

Central Question:

While many items can be recycled - paper, glass, metals, and plastic. The latest trend in recycling at your curbside is a single-stream recycling or where all the materials are disposed of in the same container. The sorting of materials occurs at the facility.

While plastics can be recycled, however many are not due to the process being expensive and complicated which results in a product of lower quality than what you put in. Making recycled items takes energy too.

Let's examine the pros and cons of recycling.

PROS: There are obvious environmental benefits to recycling. Recycling paper products discourages deforestation. "Preserving the forest reduces the risk of natural disasters while also improving air quality" (Howell, 2022). Recycling helps to limit the amount and type of waste materials that reach landfills. Recycling also reduces energy consumption as the raw material is already created and preserves natural resources. Recycling plants contribute to the job growth.

CONS: Recycling is not cost effective. Many argue that the cost of recycling outweighs its benefits. "Generally, the space for landfills is far less costly, which makes landfill waste disposal much cheaper than recycling (Howell, 2022). While recycled products may be "cool" it may compromise the quality and durability of a product. In addition, not every item is safe to recycle. For example, it takes bleach, a toxic chemical, to recycle paper. The entire process of recycling leads to significant heath risks for those who are responsible for recycling the products. The recycling process, regardless of what is being recycled, depends on heavy machinery and industrial plants that may leach harmful chemicals (Howell, 2022).

Many consider recycling a steppingstone towards critical issues like climate change, waste management and pollution (Howell, 2022).

However, the question remains - is recycling helping the environment or is the process of converting the used materials making our world more polluted?

Methodology: This is where I am stuck!

Explain which methodology you will apply - forecasting, regression analysis, hypothesis testing. Provide the relevant details. Where will your data come from and how will the results from this methodology answer the question you described above?