Question by tribekat: What are the total systemic effects of recycling?
I recycle because I want to do anything I can to reduce waste that winds up in a landfill. I have been under the impression all these years that recycling is beneficial for the environment. But I recently learned that, at least in California, we ship our compacted recyclables to China to be made into new products which are then shipped back to the USA. I’m curious about the “life cycle” of a recycled product and the recycling industry’s impact on the environment. Also, are China’s recycling methods and chemicals ok under USA or EU regulations? Economists encouraged to weigh in. Thanks.
Best answer:
Answer by troutslayer
they have no pulp trees in china, so they buy about any paper fibre they can get from us, and eviro regs in china are very lax if they exist at all.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
there is really only two things you can do that are worth recycling. first one is aluminium items. second is a home compost. items such as lawn clippings, leafs, vegetable/fruit waste, eggshells, waste from plant eating animals,shredded paper waste (non-dyed) etc etc
Recycling saves landfill space, saves mining or cutting or otherwise obtaining new materials, saves money and saves energy.
We do need to have a complete cycle by buying recycled products.
It is much cheaper to obtain aluminum from recycling than mining and separating aluminum from ts ore.
Glass can be made into new glass or glasphalt or shiny signs.
Paper can be recycled several times before the fibers are too short. It can not be used on foods. No cut trees.
Plastics can be recycled into new plastic products, not to be used on foods. And no furthe petroleum needs to be used.
Steel can be recycled into new steel.
We recycle with used cars, used clothing stores, and etc.
Unused restaurant food should be recycled to shelters.
Used oil can be reprocessed or burned.
Most likely Chinas methods are not as green as we would like to see. A market for the recycled goods needs to be found for the recycle circle to work.
Also—where is China disposing of Her waste garbage? What happens to the recycled plastic after it is formed into yet another container and how carcinogenic is that? We need Scientists to answer these questions and address the Nations in ways we can stop ADDING to Global warming.
recycling to reduce trash is an important concern since, as the world’s population grows, land for living and food production become more important. that same might be said for land use practices involving golf courses and cemeteries but that’s a path i’ll avoid here.
the real problem with your scenario is that the benefit of manufacturing new products from recycling is a large user of water and electricity and water resources are perhaps the largest environmental concern we face – outside the developed nations – and redundant electrical generation produces a lot of CO2 that contributes to climate change.
the problem isn’t the recycling, it’s all the shipping you describe since the burning of fuels to ship across the pacific and back would easily outweigh the benefits of reduced resource need for manufacturing the recycled products.
concerning china, as another answer points out, environmental laws are still virtually non-existent but that may be turning as they face population growth and their emergence from an undeveloped to a developed country where increased quality of life is supposed to be a large part of growth and development.
“What are the total systemic effects of recycling?”
Answer: 10 to the minus 157th power.