Recycling in the US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Recycling in the US - Essay Example It should however be noted that all this developments in waste management took place against the backdrop of lack of mandatory legislations on recycling. Consequently, states like New York, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Hawaii among others introduced measures to popularize and enforce recycling as a waste management strategy. Through legislations, disposal of recyclable wastes was penalized and the offenders had to part with heavy fines. Keywords: recycling, waste materials, legislations Recycling in the United States of America Recycling entails collecting and processing materials that would otherwise end up in trash. The recycling process converts such material into new products. As such, recycling is very beneficial to both the community and the environment. Many countries across the globe have embraced the concept of recycling. For instance, the United States has been in the frontline in ensuring that recycling is done in an effective way. As much as there lack any federal law that mandates recycling in the United States, various states and local government have taken it upon themselves to institute a wide range of recycling requirements and procedures. Various states have established law oversee the recycling of various products. In a nutshell, mandatory and voluntary methods were employed in implementing the introduction and adoption of recycling. While the mandatory strategy drew its backing from compulsory laws and regulations, voluntary techniques were enforced without coercion and were built around winning the goodwill of concerned parties and letting them participate at will. Many states employ the two strategies combined in order to increase the avenue for effective waste management and so far the results are tremendous. The country has lived to see trucks which collect garbage being combined with waste processing trucks to speed up the recycling of unwanted materials Waste management is currently a burning issue as the world dawns to the harsh realities of global warming together with the ever changing climatic patterns. Many conventions and declarations have been made to try reversing the trend but still there remains a substantive work to be done (Pellow, 2007).Garbage has been identified as a contributor to this threat to sustainable human, animal and plant life on the planet earth. The question then comes to how best can these wastes disastrous as they are be managed with the least of resources to attain an efficient pollution free environment? It is upon this basis that recycling as a waste management technique comes in. This presentation critically looks at the advantages and disadvantages of employing it as a waste management strategy in the United States of America (Pellow, 2007). Advantages of Recycling It promotes the conservation of scarce natural resources. Due to their limited availability, resources like timber, minerals and water need to be protected from depletion as they play a crucial role in ensuring the sustainability of life and minimizing conflicts that may result from the scramble for the little available resources. Trees play a crucial role in the gaseous exchange of the ecosystem besides providing ground cover and protecting water catchments. Water is a necessity of life for both the flora and fauna. Its absence or limited presence thus poses a great risk to the environment. Minerals are limited in supply meaning their continued extraction leaves nothing. It is thus