Almost everyone has, at some point, thought about recycling and whether it’s really worth the effort. It’s true; recycling requires work and motivation to actually go through with it. Finding a recycling bin and organizing waste by type is both time-consuming and sometimes seemingly pointless. The benefits of recycling, however, greatly exceed the amount of work necessary.

Every day, each person averages 4.3 pounds of trash, yet only 7% of that is recycled. However, these numbers don’t completely add up, because not everything can be repurposed. Despite that fact, there’s still about 34.3% of trash that can and should be recycled if at all possible. Often times, facilities lack the proper bins and organization to function as recycling outlet, though in the Forest Hills district, most places have at least one bin for recycling plastic bottles. Constantly, people are given the opportunity to use their energy for the good of the earth, and still, people neglect that power to save the lives of various wildlife. Waste is always being produced; all we have to do is take the initiative to make a dent on this major issue.

Ever since the revolutionary idea of being able to reclaim old garbage came around in the 1970s, technology has improved and advanced that mission to save the earth. Various technologies have been used to effectively recycle, each having its own issues. In January 2015, new technology called Ak Inovek came out that made the process more efficient and less wasteful. It doesn’t require the use of liquids, making it a green process. Without the use of liquid, Ak Inovek also can filter through styrofoam, polystyrene, and ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) to reuse the materials. These new systems can help the cause, but not much can be done about the dumps and loads of waste that seem to be forever polluting the Earth.
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there’s a huge amount of plastic waste that is killing ocean life and further polluting the ocean. In numerous other locations, there are also other gyres. Gyres are vast islands of waste where trash always outnumbers plant life. We aren’t taking care of the Earth; we need to take responsibility for our actions and for our consumer waste. The mess that we made as consumers is our fault and our problem that we need to fix.

Sometimes, even the smallest action can make the biggest difference. Whether that action is tossing a single plastic bottle in a recycling bin, or simply not even using plastic bottles, recycling and being waste-conscious leaves a positive impact. Reusing materials is an old idea, but sometimes that’s all it takes to start making a way for a cleaner Earth.