UPCYCLING - The New Way to Recycle
Sea turtles, birds, and other animals are dying due to the consumption of several different types of plastic. Landfills are becoming overfilled because with all the new technologies present in the 21st century, no one is recycling the items they use: mainly because people don't prioritize recycling as one of their top daily routines. Many tend to litter plastic on the ground, throw it in the garbage can (dispose of waste improperly), and throw plastic in the oceans. Animals are needed on this planet and help us in numerous ways, and with them dying, the environment is becoming polluted. Recycling will help animals, the environment, the planet, our entire society, nature, and most importantly, ourselves. Since recycling is critical in order to save the lives of several animals, there should be another method out there that can still save the environment and save the frustration some people get when recycling - UPCYCLING.
Consequences of Littering on the Ground
When people litter on the ground, small rodents such as squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks mistake the plastic for a source of food. In the desperation of food, these animals end up choking on the plastic in an effort to consume it. This eventually causes their quick death, and according to many credible sources, the more new technologies that are being presented, the more animals that die from choking on plastic waste. According to environmentalprofessionalsnetwork.com, when these animals die, it hurts our society and environment because some animals help to bring out the nutrients from the cycle while others help in decomposition, carbon, and the nitrogen cycle.
Consequences of Littering in the Ocean
Similar to the consequences of when plastic is thrown on the ground, sea animals choke on this plastic that's thrown in oceans and other bodies of water. Sea animals include turtles, whales, fish, dolphins, and many others. Different sea animals play different roles in our ecosystem. For example, according to ec.europa.eu, "Fish play an important role in nutrient cycles because they store a large proportion of ecosystem nutrients in their tissues, transport nutrients farther than other aquatic animals and excrete nutrients in dissolved forms that are readily available to primary producers."
Consequences of Throwing Recyclables Into Garbage Cans
Many people wonder why does it matter so much when we dispose of waste materials incorrectly. The most-commonly asked misconception is: Well, I'm still throwing [plastic] in a bin, right? It's not like it's harming any animals like throwing plastic on the ground or in the water do, so why does it matter? It still matters, though. If you didn't know this already, after you throw your garbage away, big trucks move all the garbage into a landfill. Even though they find recyclables in the landfill, they cannot take it out because there is a law specifically forbidding that (the reason has it's own follow-up complications). So, the workers are forced to leave the recyclables with the other trash. This is all dumped into one huge pit full of trash, which eventually gets buried down underneath the ground after harsh weather conditions or after a long period of time passes. However, if there is an overload of "trash" in the landfill, it's much harder for the "trash" to bury underneath the ground, and is proven to be much more time-consuming. Overloading landfills ruins the environment with all the trash still above ground level. Therefore, we should be mindful of where we throw our wasted materials.
Resources
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/73na2_en.pdf
http://environmentalprofessionalsnetwork.com/how-animals-help-us-to-save-the-planet/
http://environmentalprofessionalsnetwork.com/how-animals-help-us-to-save-the-planet/