Is Recycling Effective?

Is recycling effective? A few months ago, when I was in Montreal, I was surprised to see that in some grocery stores plastics bags were sold. It is something new because two years ago when I lived in this city, they were free. Now, people need to bring their own reusable bags or buy a plastic bag for 20 cents. Banning grocery plastics bags in Montreal is the city plan as well as some cities in the United States already doing. The aim of this new recycling program is to protect the environment. I believe that recycling is not always effective in some aspects, but it is still the first step that people can do to fight earth’s contamination. Opponents of recycling said that it can affect the environment. Professor Benjamin (2006), an economics professor at Clemson University and an associate of the Property and Environment Research Center, argues that the “recycling process actually poses a threat to the environment”. When factories recycle, recycled materials go through a chemical process which sometimes has environmental impact. For example, recycled paper has more toxins during the process than the process of producing new paper. In addition, when the city recycles, more trucks are needed to collect the recycle materials. “Los Angeles has 800 rubbish trucks rather than 400, because of its curb-side recycling” (Benjamin, 2006). This means that the city will need more fuel for the trucks and that will causes more pollution in the city. Benjamin (2006) believes that recycling is not effective. However, others believe that recycling benefits the environment. Sam Martin (2006), a Mother Earth News contributing editor, argues that recycling is one good solution to help the environment. It is not always helping but it is better than producing products from virgin materials. “In 1988, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)” (Martin, 2006) put in place a recycling program. In “1995, 27% of the country’s waste was recycled (compared to 6.3% in 1960)”

References: Benjamin, D.K. (2006). The benefits of recycling are exaggerated. In Gerdes L. (Ed.), Pollution (pp. 124-129). Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press. Depalma, A. (2004, April 20). City gets list proposals for cost-effective recycling. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Retrieve April 13, 2010, from http://wwwcc.ivytech.edu/library/central-indiana Janney, A. (2007). Curbside recycling wastes environmental and economic resources. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Retrieve April 12, 2010, from http://wwwcc.ivytech.edu/library/central-indiana Lyons, R. (2007, October 23). Rob Lyons: Recycling is a waste of time. Times online. Retrieve April 12, 2010, from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/specials/article2718175.ece Martin, S. (2006). Recycling is an effective way to deal with waste. In Gerdes L. (Ed.), Pollution (pp. 117-123). Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press. Miller, K.L. (2007). Municipalities can profit from well-designed recycling programs. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Retrieve April 13, 2010, from http://wwwcc.ivytech.edu/library/central-indiana Sheehan, B. (2000, October). Zero waste, recycling and climate Change. Grassroots recycling networks. Retrieve April 14, 2010, from http://www.grrn.org/zerowaste Tierney, J (2000, August 08). The big city; the negatives of recycling in New York. The New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from http://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/08/nyregion/the-big-city-the-negatives-of-recycling-in-new-york.html