12 Sep 4 Reasons Why Recycling Plastic at your Facility is So Important

Recycling is a core component of any modern waste management system. Anyone that isn’t recycling is behind with the times, as there are countless reasons why every facility should strive to recycle as much waste as possible.
Plastic is possibly the most important material to recycle at any facility. When sent to a landfill site plastic is likely to last for hundreds of years before deteriorating, placing massive responsibility on everyone in the world to up their efforts to recycle this material.

Here’s 4 reasons why recycling plastic at your facility is so important:

1. Reducing Plastic in Landfill Sites

Let’s get the most obvious reason out of the way – plastic waste is terrible for the environment. For instance, did you know that Americans buy and throw away around 25 billion single-serve plastic bottles every year?

Most of these go directly to a landfill site where they take centuries to naturally deteriorate and they also take up lots of space in landfill sites. Plastics are also made from fossil fuels, meaning any plastic that isn’t recycled causes energy to be wasted making new plastic.

So, if you aren’t recycling plastic it’s not only polluting the environment but also causing more energy to be used to make new plastic, increasing carbon foot prints across the globe.

2. Saving Natural Resources

Following from the previous point, manufacturing new plastic requires the use of fossil fuels, a natural resource that will eventually run out. So, it’s important to reduce our reliance on these natural resources before we lose them forever, which is where recycling plastic can help.

Rather than constantly making new plastic we can recycle the vast quantities of plastic currently in circulation. This eases the reliance on natural resources, as it takes about two-thirds less energy to recycle plastic than it does to make new plastic.

3. Reducing Pollution

Did you know that the chemicals in plastic can be easily released into the environment when exposed to certain elements? For instance, when plastic is heated it can release dangerous pollutants into water, where countless amounts of plastic are found.

Similarly, when plastics are incinerated rather than recycled, they release all types of toxic pollutants into the atmosphere, including the very air we breathe. So, by taking the time to recycle at your facility you are doing your part towards reducing harmful pollution plastics can cause.

4. Protecting Wildlife

Plastic is very dangerous to wildlife. All kinds of animals face certain death from accidental ingestion of plastics, so the more plastic that isn’t recycled the more risks there are for our wildlife, especially aquatic wildlife.

So, the more wildlife that dies from ingesting plastic the more damage it does to the fragile ecosystems around the world, which can have catastrophic results for humans, animals, and the entire planet.

H-West Equipment, Inc is a provider of recycling equipment, based in Orange, CA.  We sell and service every piece of equipment necessary, from Balers to Compactors, to Shredders, Conveyors, and much more throughout California, Arizona, Nevada and Northern Mexico. We also provide parts and expert service throughout the same coverage area. For a consultation, or to schedule service, reach us through our contact form or call us at our corporate office in Orange CA at (714) 289-7733 today!