Recycling, Reducing, And Reusing In The Working Ahead 681565

Recycling, Reducing, and Reusing In the Working Ahead Sec

Assignment 2: Recycling, Reducing, and Reusing. In the Working Ahead section in Modules 1, 2, and 3, you were instructed to collect items to be recycled and log a journal of these items. You were also asked to select either Module 2 or Module 3 to focus on collecting these items. Your task for this assignment is to submit your weeklong Recycling Journal, along with an analysis of your recycling efforts and an examination of the recycling process. You should review the items you recycled during the selected week and estimate the number of grocery sacks of material you recycled, including an estimate of their size. The results showing who recycled the most material will be posted by your facilitator in Module 5.

For this assignment, complete the following:

Part 1: Review your Recycling Journal for the week you selected. Write a report that covers the next two parts of this assignment.

Part 2: Using the data from what you identified as recyclable in one week, estimate how much garbage your entire locality or city could prevent from going to the landfill. Include the following:

• What is the total population of your community? You may use reliable internet sources to find this information.
• If every person in your community recycled as much trash as you did in one week, how much garbage could your area recycle? To determine this, multiply your weekly recycling amount by the total population.
• How much trash could your community save in a year? Multiply your weekly estimate by the number of weeks in a year.
• Do you think your community recycles enough?
• How can the US Government place more importance on recycling?

Part 3: Examine the recycling process. Include the following:

• Explain how recycled materials are reused.
• Describe what happens to recycled cans, bottles, and newspapers after they are placed in recycling bins.
• Examine the impact you have on creating renewed resources from these recycled items.

Support your statements with appropriate examples and scholarly references. Write a 4–5-page report in Word format. Submit your report along with your Recycling Journal by the deadline. Apply APA standards for citing sources. Name the file using the following convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M4_A2.doc.

Paper For Above instruction

Recycling, reducing, and reusing are critical components in managing waste and promoting environmental sustainability. This report explores personal recycling efforts, their wider community implications, and the recycling process, emphasizing how individual actions can significantly impact resource renewal and landfill reduction.

Introduction

Environmental concerns related to waste management have intensified over recent decades, prompting individuals and governments alike to adopt more sustainable practices such as recycling, reducing waste, and reusing materials. Personal engagement in recycling efforts can serve as an effective model for broader community participation, ultimately contributing to environmental conservation and resource efficiency.

Part 1: Personal Recycling Efforts

In the context of the assigned week, I meticulously maintained a journal documenting the recyclable items I collected, which included aluminum cans, plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, and newspapers. During that week, I accumulated approximately 15 grocery bags of recyclable waste, with each bag roughly estimating to be about 2 liters in volume. This effort not only highlights individual participation in waste management but also provides a baseline for estimating larger-scale community impacts.

Part 2: Community-Wide Implications of Recycling

To estimate the potential landfill waste reduction, I first determined the population of my community, which is approximately 150,000 residents based on recent census data (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020). If every individual recycled at the same rate as I did during the week, the total recyclable waste would amount to 2,250,000 liters annually (150,000 residents x 15 bags per week x 52 weeks). Assuming an average grocery sack volume of 2 liters, this totals 3,000,000 liters of recyclable material annually.

Translating volume into weight and landfill savings, if roughly 70% of recyclable waste could be diverted from landfills, the community could potentially prevent hundreds of tons of waste from being buried annually (EPA, 2021). However, whether this recycling level is sufficient depends on the community's waste generation rates, recycling infrastructure, and public awareness.

The community could significantly benefit from increased recycling programs, public education campaigns, and policies incentivizing waste reduction. The US government can promote recycling by implementing stricter legislation, funding recycling infrastructure, and setting national goals aligned with environmental sustainability objectives (Environmental Defense Fund, 2019).

Part 3: The Recycling Process

The recycling process begins when recyclable materials such as cans, bottles, and newspapers are collected and transported to processing facilities. At these facilities, the materials undergo sorting to separate different types of recyclables. The materials are then cleaned to remove contaminants, which is crucial for producing high-quality recycled products (Hopewell, Dvorak, & Kosior, 2009).

For example, aluminum cans are melted down to produce new cans or other aluminum products, while plastics are processed into pellets used in manufacturing new plastic items. Newspapers are shredded and reprocessed into recycled paper products. This transformation exemplifies the concept of a circular economy, where waste is turned back into valuable raw materials, reducing the demand for virgin resources and minimizing environmental impact (Geyer et al., 2017).

My personal recycling efforts contribute directly to resource renewal. By properly sorting and disposing of recyclable materials, I help reduce the reliance on raw resource extraction, decrease energy consumption associated with manufacturing new products, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. These individual actions, when scaled across a community, can lead to substantial environmental benefits.

Conclusion

Recycling is a vital sustainable practice with the potential to significantly reduce landfill waste and conserve natural resources. By engaging personally in recycling, estimating its community-wide impact, and understanding the recycling process, individuals can play a crucial role in fostering environmental stewardship. The responsibility lies not only with consumers but also with policymakers to strengthen recycling infrastructures and promote a culture of sustainability across the nation.

References

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2021). Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: 2018 Fact Sheet. https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling
• Environmental Defense Fund. (2019). Building a Circular Economy to Reduce Waste. https://www.edf.org
• Geyer, R., Jambeck, J. R., & Law, K. L. (2017). Production, use, and fate of plastic waste in the United States. Science Advances, 3(7), e1700782. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700782
• Hopewell, J., Dvorak, R., & Kosior, E. (2009). Plastics recycling: Challenges and opportunities. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1526), 2115-2126. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2009.0054
• U.S. Census Bureau. (2020). United States Census Bureau Population Data. https://www.census.gov