The idiom, “One man’s trash is
another man’s treasure”, probably best explains the meaning of trash or
waste. The amount of waste produced by our society is rising day by day because
of the rise in population in the urban areas. The consumption rate is getting
higher and higher and products life span is shortening. This rise in the amount
of waste is causing serious impact on the environment and it is also a cause
for the rise in land and water pollution because people usually dump their
solid waste in landfills or industrial waste is dumped in rivers. Waste is
generally burnt or buried, neither one is good for the environment. Burning
waste material releases harmful and dangerous gases that contribute to global
warming. Waste management strategies include the three Rs, reduce, reuse
and recycle. These 3Rs are referred to as the waste hierarchy. The main aim of
waste hierarchy is to take out maximum practical benefits from products and to
produce the minimum amount of waste.
The term recycling means re-using waste
materials and making new products out of them. Recycling has many
definitions relating to the different processes that recycling can be involved
with. Recycling is done by collecting recyclable materials that would otherwise
be considered waste, sorting them out and processing them into raw materials
such as fibers. These raw materials are then manufactured into new products.
Materials that can be recycled include glass, plastic, aluminum, metal,
electronics, car batteries, paper, cans etc.
Recycling has many social, financial and most
importantly environmental benefits. Such as it reduces energy usage, saves on
landfill space, helps sustain the environment for future generations, decreases
emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, conserves
natural resources and also prevents pollution. Almost everything we see
around us can be recycled. Recycling industries are functioning in many
countries across the world. Creative recycling can be done at home without any
difficulty.
The waste produced in Pakistan can help in
boosting the economy if properly taken care of. People in Pakistan are unaware
of the importance of recycling or reusing waste materials. Awareness programs
should be carried out in the country to make people understand the importance
of recyclable waste materials. This would help in saving resources and will
also provide jobs as a large number of people in Pakistan are unemployed.
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