Over the past ten weeks, a recycling project took place. The requirement of this assignment was to collect and recycle different kinds of household items from the trash. Various options were given to select from and make a research report on it. In equal quantity plastic and metal was collected to complete the assignment.
After collecting all the recyclable items, it was required to find out their market value and to sell them. So, that one can differentiate that how much is the difference between the real product and the recyclable waste.
In the first week five plastic cups were collected, which were kept in the storage area. In the second week, six tin cans of a carbonated beverage were collected to recycle. In the third week, five plastic water bottles were collected.
In the fourth week, four metal candle stands were collected. In the fifth week, seven plastic hair combs were collected. In the sixth week, four side panels of a window were collected which are made of aluminum metal.
In the seventh week, five plastic tin-tin toys were collected for this assignment. In the eight week, three frying pans were collected which are found almost in every house. In the ninth week, twelve plastic bowls were collected, which are found in every house. In the last week of this assignment, six metal strainers were collected.
Items
Quantity
Weight
Plastic cups
5
15gms
Carbonated beverage cans
6
300gms
Plastic Water bottles
5
50gms
Small metal candle stands
4
2000gms
Plastic hair combs
7
70gms
Window panels(metal)
4
1200gms
Plastic tin-tin toys
5
120gms
Frying pans
3
6000gms
Plastic bowls
12
180gms
Metal strainers
6
600gms
TOTAL
10535 Grams
Total weight of plastic waste = 435 grams
1 ton = 1000kgs, 1 kg = 1000grams
Therefore 1000 x 1000 = 1,000,000 grams
1,000,000 grams $1400
Then 1 gram will cost 1400/1,000,000
1 gram = 0.0014cents
Therefore 435 grams = 0.0014 x 435
=60.9 cents of plastic.
Total weight of metal = 10100 grams
1,000,000 grams cost $2200
Then 1gram will cost 2200/1,000,000
1gram = 0.0022cents
10100 grams = 0.0022 x 10100
= $22.22 of metal.
Total $22.22 + 60.9 =
$22.829
Collection of Data
After all the items were collected, it was necessary to keep an account of them. All of the items were arranged in sequenced manner and then the counting was done. All the items were of different sizes and types in the inventory.
Management Skills
Management of the storage area was necessary to complete this assignment. Otherwise, there was a possibility that the recyclable items might get mixed up and then it will become a problem to count them in the end. The most important priority was to keep the storage area clean.
Inventory and Storage Management
Every week a new item in the inventory was being added therefore plastic and metal items were kept separately. Plastic items were kept on the floor whereas metal products were kept on the table in an organized manner. Since, keeping the storage are clean was also a part of the assignment therefore it used to be cleaned after every three days.
Social and Ethical Responsibility
Social and ethical responsibility of every person in this world should be to keep it clean. Recycling should be one thing which everyone is aware off. People need to be aware of how much can change if they start recycling. It is a social responsibility of every human being to recycle plastic as much as possible since it is very harmful for this planet.
Potential Business Enterprises
Its hard to calculate the number of companies who use such products and recycle their plastic and metal waste and use it for functional things. There are restaurants, organizations which use recycled metal and plastic materials. For example, the SS plastic dining room is a restaurant which is made up of recycled plastic bottles (Tree hugger, 2010). This is one good way of minimizing the plastic from this world.
Recycling Centers and Cost Factors
Recycling center of America is one of the biggest recycling centers of plastic in America. They recycle at a very large scale and have their factories set up in most of the states. If we talk about metal recycling centers then Metal Source America, Inc. is a very big firm which recycles metals at a very large scale. They have recycling centers established in most of the states. Recycling metal is very expensive.
Collectivism
Collectivism is the opposite of individualism. People who are individualist believe in doing things for themselves and not for the entire society.
Collectivism is something in which people work together and for the whole society rather than just for themselves. It varies in cultures; there are some cultures in which people believe in acting as collective society and fighting for the betterment of the people but at the same time there are some cultures in which people do not really care about the betterment of anyone else except for themselves (via-web, 2011).
Plastic Issue
Plastic is a very big issue of this entire world. Plastic bags are light in weight and they are easy to carry but there is one thing that everyone should know about them and that is they are very harmful to this world. Plastic is a non-biodegradable product, it takes about hundreds of years to decompose. Plastic bags if burned become the cause of poisoning the air with toxic. There is no proper solution for the plastic issue but it is a persons duty to use plastic products as less as one can. If we cannot stop it then at least we can reduce the use of it (Ezine articles, 2011).
During the past ten weeks while completing this assignment, a thing was realized that how important is to recycle and keep the world clean. Since, all these items were picked from within the house therefore it somehow made the house looked cleaner. Every person in this world should realize his role in how to keep this world clean and not destroying the atmosphere by the trash they throw out on the roads. It is our social and ethical responsibility in keeping this planet clean and green.
From the beginning to the end what all was required to produce the recyclable items can be explained through the following lines: Firstly, recycling is not a one man job therefore many employees were hired those who could go around and collect different types of plastic and metal waste and bring them to the factory to be recycled. For all this employees, trash collecting trucks, heavy machineries and workers who knew how to use the machineries were needed.
Supply chain of recyclable items can be explained in three points. First of all, when the trash gets recycled they are to be moved from the factory to the warehouse of the factory. Second, from the warehouse of the factory it is send to the distributors of recycled products. Third, the distributors sell it to different factories or customers who have something to do with recycled metal or plastic.
If a person is collecting and supplying the recyclable items then the chain would be like the following: Since, collecting recyclable items is not a one man job therefore many employees were hired to collect the recyclable items. After the collection was done, these recyclable items were brought to the storage area where all of these items were to be stored. From the storage area these items were to be sold to different factories or customers who pay a price for it.
For collecting these recyclable items on a commercial scale a lot of workers are needed, who could go out on the streets and collect trash, then a lot of trash collecting trucks and drivers are needed those who would bring all the recyclable waste back to the warehouse. Once the recyclable waste is at the warehouse then the distribution process starts in which trucks are again needed so that the products can be supplied to factories those who would recycle these items.
All of the recyclable items will be stored in a warehouse because it will be a place where only recycling items will be getting collected and no other work will be able to interrupt this process.
Starting with one distribution is obviously needed but as soon as more factories ordering for the plastic and metal waste then yes, there will be need of at least two or three distribution centers so that the different distribution centers are easily able to distribute the plastic and metal waste to different factories easily and not getting mixed up. This will be a local operation because it is necessary to clean the society first. Focus will be to collect the recyclable items locally.
Since, the supply load will be generating a lot therefore it will become necessary for outsourcing the parts of supply chain to different providers. Recycling is also a business; therefore, gaining profit is the aim of every business. By outsourcing the parts of supply chain, the work will be distributed and more work will be done in less time.
References
Ezine articles. (2011). The Effect of Plastic Bags on Environment. Web.
Tree hugger. (2010). Floating Plastic Dining Room is Taking Orders. Web.
The objective of this assignment is to recycle various household items to conduct an experiment and to write a research report on it. Throughout the process of ten weeks various types of plastic materials had been collected and stored so that when we resell these items after ten long weeks, we are able to easily tell the difference between the price of when it was bought and the price at which it is again sold in the market. The above mentioned process was carried out for the duration of ten weeks.
In the first week of this assignment four plastic milk pack containers were collected, stored and kept for recycling. In the second week, three plastic bottles were collected from the street [they were normal pet bottles of soft drinks] and were stored along with the milk pack containers. In the third week, five plastic plates were found from the household stuff which was not of use any more [they were standard soup plates].
In the fourth week, six plastic tea cups were found which were also placed alongside all the other recyclable items in the storage area. In the fifth week, three plastic dustbins were collected for this task [they were pedal opener dustbins]. Five hair combs were also collected in the sixth week from the household items as well.
The seventh week, twelve ball point pens were collected as part of recycling experiment. In the eight week plastic lunch boxes were also collected. Ninth week, Plastic shopping bags were collected as they are used almost on a daily basis in some way or the other and also due to the reason that they are environmentally noxious to the society. The last week of the recycling experiment, Plastic balls were collected; the ones that children play with.
Items
Quantity
Weight(grams)
Plastic Milk Containers
4
120gms
Plastic Bottles
3
60gms
Plastic Plates
5
50gms
Plastic Tea Cups
6
30gms
Plastic Dustbin
3
90gms
Hair Combs
5
25gms
Ball point pen
12
30gms
Plastic Lunch boxes
7
84gms
Plastic shopping bags
8
8gms
Plastic balls
5
15gms
TOTAL
512gms
1 ton = 1000kgs
1 Kg = 1000gms
Therefore 1 ton = 1000 x 1000 = 1,000,000gms
1,000,000gms = $1500
Therefore, 1gm = 1500/1,000,000
1gm = $0.0015
As we have 512gms = $0.768
Which = 76.8cents
Data Collection Procedure
After collection of all the necessary items to complete the assignment, counting was done on the basis of categorizing plastic material things for their purpose and the types. Once, the plastic goods were sequenced it became easier to calculate the varying types and sizes of items placed in the inventory.
Management Skills Implemented
The management skills which have been implemented in order to complete this assignment to manage a storage area for all the different items, in order to ensure that the stock inventory for recycling does not get mixed up. The storage area for the task was cleaned and tidied prior and made imperative that it stayed that way. For ten continuous weeks the storage area was maintained and confronted no problems in order to store the different types of plastic materials.
Inventory Management
For the entire ten weeks, a new and different plastic material was to be put in the inventory for completing this assignment, each week. The management of the inventory was relatively easy as the storage area was quite expansive. There were ten different shelves made and each shelf was meant to store an individual plastic material good. This ensured that none of the goods could ever get jumbled up.
Storage Management
The management ensured that the storage area was cleaned thoroughly and properly. Hence, the counting and inspection of all the different plastic recyclable was to be done without any hassle.
Social and Ethical Responsibility
Conducting such an experiment accentuates the need for recycling in an extreme responsible fashion. The social and ethical responsibility behind recycling plastic waste is highly and urgently required as plastic takes years to decompose. A general example being the plastic bags for instance, as they come in very handy and almost everyone uses or used it on a daily basis.
Not only can they clog up drainage but also the mess created is painful to clean up. In fact, several developing countries are continuously battling with plastic decomposition. Hence, its absolutely crucial that one understands the importance and ethical need to become a more socially responsible human being. Embracing both the quality and habit of recycling waste materials is one of the most vital needs of the human race in the 21st century.
Potential Business Enterprise
There are several business enterprises that recycle plastic waste and convert it into useful things. In every other type of business, plastic is used for various reasons. For example there is Tesco and Sainsbury in retail business that converts plastic material and use them for packaging their products.
In fact, quite a few businesses have made a conscious decision to recycle waste and plastic. Usually these products which are being sold have green arrows which show that they can be recycled again. Another example can be given of the roads which are built in southern India, they are made with plastic bags made into powder form and buried under the road. This carved the path for a possibility of recycling bio degradable plastic bags in Southern India. (Scienceray, 2011)
Recycling Centers
For example, Appliance recycling center has several branches and is quite a huge firm, as not only do they sell home appliances but recycling is a core value of the company as well. They recycle all over America.
Cost Factors
Recycling wastes uses up double the amount of energy in comparison creating plastic. The factories which recycle plastic wastes produce harmful and sometimes poisonous smoke. Proven by research it is found that majority of the factories which recycle waste end up being given a chase for their money.
Collectivism
Collectivism is the term for the combined thoughts of a group of people. Collectivism is the phenomenon that is used as an antonym of the term individualism. According to a collective theory, the collective group is seen to have superiority over the individual. There are two types of collectivism and they are horizontal and vertical.
There are two types of collectivism; horizontal and the vertical. The horizontal collectivism comprises of the equal distribution of duties and responsibilities. In Vertical collectivism there is a social chain of command that members of this group work to maintain and people submit to those who are above them in the chain of command (Wisegeek, 2011).
Plastic Issue
The plastic issue can be solved by various methods; all these methods can be done on a local and almost a communal scale which will have a global effect. It is the responsibility of the government as well as every member of the society to not only face each issue but also take measures to solve them.
If the plastic is to be banned by the government to save the planet, then there are two things which need to be resolved. Firstly, in order to safeguard the manufacturers and dealers of the plastic industry, they must be provided with different ways of earning a good livelihood. Secondly, find an alternate for the consumers at a reasonable rate.
Years ago, when plastic was not common, most of the time people used cloth bags or jute bags to carry their belongings. In order to save up on expenses the sugar and other such granule like commodities were sold to the customers wrapped up in the news papers (cone shaped). Even in todays world we can adopt all those good practices because they do not spoil our environment (Scienceray, 2011).
Throughout the entire ten weeks process of recycling plastic, the knowledge gained explains the importance of recycling is immense. It is absolutely necessary that all human beings realize and activate their social and ethical responsibility, when it comes to recycling. The less plastic is used on a daily basis, the higher the risk we run.
Mindsets need to be changed if globally we need to improve. Create and raising awareness in the minds of people from different regions on the importance of recycling to begin with is a huge step towards our social and ethical responsibility towards our world, planet and each other.
The dilemma surrounding recycling has been in existence since the beginning of development. Early concerns that led to recycling as a waste disposal option were the ever increasing numbers of landfills.
This generated the need for a better technique to reduce the number of landfills and the dangers associated with landfills such as toxins escaping into water and others into air causing contamination and creation of greenhouse effect. The next best alternative was to recycle the wastes such as plastics and glass where both items contributed to a great extent to the substances responsible for filling up landfills since they either took longer durations to decompose or did not decompose at all.
Recycling made it easier for people to feel good about their attempts at saving the environment from toxins and the ever increasing landfills. However, they did not think critically about the whole process associated with recycling, the principle they used was that of out of sight therefore out of mind forgetting the fact that solving one issue does not help solve an issue related to this; sometimes it worsens another situation if not considered from a broader perspective.
This is exactly what recycling does. It shoulders the disadvantages of landfills and trys to compensate them by claiming that energy is saved and fewer items are deposited into landfills but looking at the broader perspective reveals that recycling has little or no changes when environmental degradation is considered.
In fact there is almost no difference to effects on the environment by using recyclables and using virgin resins. For example, when recycling of plastics is well thought-out, the apparent effect is that there would be less plastics being deposited into landfills therefore less toxins emitted from landfills.
Conversely, the environmental effect of converting polymers to monomers and back to polymers has negative thermodynamic influence on the environment much as landfills have a negative influence. This brings us to the conclusion that recycling is not as beneficial as it was once thought to be. Recycling is as environmental degrading as the production of non-recycled products has a negative influence on the environment.
The essay intends to focus on the rationale behind those who support recycling and those who dont and finally reaching a consensus as to what can be done in order to maximize waste disposal without inflicting negative results to the environment which acts as the incubator through which life is supported; everyone can attest to the fact that an inhabitable environment can result to death and extinction of each living organism including humans, its therefore up to us to ensure that the environment is fit for our survival.
Recycling refers to the process of reusing materials and products that would otherwise have been thrown away in the various landfills or burnt in incinerators. Landfills are areas which have been designated to act as disposal sites where solid wastes which include substances for instance papers, disposable glasses and metal collected from industries and homes otherwise known as municipal solid waste are dumped into large holes dug into the ground.
Landfills are designed to reduce land contamination by toxins which are emitted by decaying substances from the mixture of rubbish that people dispose from their homes. There are toxins which emanate from these landfills which consist of methane emissions produced from the decomposition of organic substances present in the landfills. There is also the risk of landfill leachate referring to a liquid substance that is formed during the decomposition of organic substances. The leachate has a tendency of settling at the bottom of these landfills.
The methane emissions contaminate the surrounding atmosphere resulting to formation of acid rain and the landfill leachate has a high probability of contaminating the water systems if they manage to escape from the ground. Contamination refers to the existence of minor materials that are apparently unwanted in the natural environment.
One of the arguments used by recycling supporters is that the government takes full responsibility of the funding of recycling activities. Government supports lots of services that the free market wouldnt provide, such as the delivery of running water, electricity, and mail to our homes (Cozic 26).
They say that recycling does not exist in the free market but instead it functions within the normal market economy and it does so successively. They argue that if the recycling industry was existing in a free market then the subsidies that are granted by government which favor activities related with the use of virgin materials as well as the maintenance of landfills would not exist. From their point of view the subsidies made by the government to these activities makes them equal.
For recycling supporters, there is little and reduced air pollution while recycling as compared with using virgin products. By decreasing the need to extract and process virgin materials, recycling helps reduce or eliminate the pollution associated with material extraction and processing.(Howell 147).
They also argue that large amounts of energy is saved during the recycling process as compared to the large amounts of energy that lead to depletion of natural resources such as crude oil during the production of products utilizing virgin materials.
In a research carried out, estimation as to the amount of green house gasses that would be reduced from being emitted into the atmosphere was in tones of about 48 million which can be compared to the emissions from 36 million vehicles. Therefore, according to their arguments recycling greatly reduces pollution of water and air by a greater percentage thus making it both an economical and environmental conducive method of production.
According to the proponents of recycling, the landfill crisis is greatly averted by utilizing the process of recycling as opposed to dumping huge amounts of waste.Landfills and incinerators can be major sources of pollution. For example, leachate from solid waste landfills is similar in composition to that of hazardous waste landfills. (Heimlich 6).
In their opinion, the emission of methane as a toxic waste from landfills and other toxic gasses that are emitted from incinerators during burning of waste is significantly reduced while recycling. They are fully aware of the fact that most landfills are almost reaching their maximum capacity and the amount of money used to transport and dump waste in the landfills has been increasing over the years. Recycling therefore opens an avenue through which costs associated with landfills can be reduced.
Promoters of recycling have the notion that there is a wide and expansive market for their finished products. According to them Demand for recycled materials has never been greater. American manufacturers rely on recyclables to produce many of the products on your store shelves. (Boustead 29).
In their analysis of the future market, they estimated that by the time the year 2005 approaches, there would be more than $ 5billion materials that would be collected by manufacturers of recycled products per annum. This implies that production of recycled products would be produced in larger quantities and that the manufacturers of recycled products have been producing recycled products in large scale over the years.
An assumption made by these proponents is that most of the American citizens are more than willing to participate in the activity which they support by the active curbside programs and other drop-off centers that act as sites for the wholesome collection of products to be used in recycling. More than 20,000 curbside programs and drop-off centers for recycling are active today because Americans use and support them. (Oskamp 163).
On the other hand there are people who are against the recycling programs. From their point of view recycling does little in reducing the amount of non-biodegradable wastes and the emission of toxic gasses into the atmosphere. In as much as the government takes responsibility of providing the necessary materials in recycling companies, the consumer who is the tax payer suffers a great deal.
The claim that it is cheaper to produce recycled materials since the government provides subsidies is an opposition for most of the tax payers. According to the tax payers Most of us pay in one way or another for the garbage to be removed from our homes. Waste management including recycling is a service, not a right. (Netzley 38).
The fees collected in order to collect this refuse is the same amount that is assigned to the production of these recycled goods thus the cheap price of the commodities is substituted by these fees and charges together with the amount of fuel burnt by consumers to deposit these materials that are potential raw materials at their respective collection points.
In addition to this, the employees of these recycle companies are paid by money accumulated from tax payers. The overall result of the low-price of the commodity is cancelled by these expenses.
At the same time the fumes emitted by recycling companys equals the amount of poisonous gases emitted in the manufacture of products using virgin substances. This is by addition of both the fumes produced at these industries and those produced by the tracks while ferrying the wastes.
At the same time consumers of products incur large energy costs while transporting the items to be recycled. The first energy costs are incurred in picking the wastes and conveying them to the centers regulated for recycling. The costs and energy consumed are aggravated if there are different centers for the different categories of items.
For instance, plastic items may have a different collection center from that of glass and other items such as metals and paper. Other centers are situated miles away from each other and there is a lot of energy utilized to transport the items. Also, during processing, after separation at the plants, a variety of tracks are used to ship different raw products to the various plants.
Numerous resources are also used in the recycling industry which emits poisonous fumes creating recycled materials consumes massive amounts of other resources oil, gas, coal, etc. When we create plastics (Howell 156).
Combining the overall effect of all this transportation from one cite to another, there are massive emission of gases and the cost of energy incurred during the transportation and recycling of these supplies is quite high such that the emissions produced in companies dealing with virgin raw materials equals to or is almost equal to that of recycling companies. There is therefore no evidence for the difference recycling brings to the environment.
Recycling does not provide an alternative answer to the large amounts of wastes that end up in land fills and incinerators. At times the amount of recyclable waste deposited by consumers at the recycling centers is so large such that some of this waste is not utilized in the recycling One thing you may be unaware of is that if your local area does not have enough workers or machinery, there are times where the recycling that you have done is just thrown away as there is too much to go through (Tierney 15).
It is disposed off since there is already too much going through for recycling such that the recycling centers cannot keep up with the quantities of recyclables being supplied. In addition to these, recycling creates the notion that plastics once used can be recycled.
Instead of reducing the amount of plastics to be disposed off, it increases them since consumers use more of the plastics with the conviction that they will be recycled thus using them in great quantities does not have the same negative influence on the environment since recycling caters for them. As a result, the excess of these plastics are disposed off in the same landfills that recycling companies try to avoid.
The market for the finished products of recycled goods is believed to be large, however, this is a misconception by the recycling companies. There are various myths relating to recycled household goods which make the purchasing of recycled goods by consumers quite difficult One of the myths about recycling is that recycled products are inferior to virgin-source products.
This myth grew out of the paper recycling industry.(Burn 622). These myths have to be dealt with first before a wide market for recycled goods can be achieved. One of the myths surrounding recycled products is that they are inferior as compared to their counterparts produced using virgin raw materials. These myths developed from the paper industry which was among the first recycling industry.
The quality of recycled paper then that was produced was of poor quality but improved technology has resulted to better quality papers whose quality cannot be distinguished from papers produced from a virgin source. However, this myth continues to be a conviction among consumers concerning all recycled products making the market for recycled products smaller. Breaking this myth will widen the market as consumers will purchase more of the recycled products comfortably.
As a result of the two arguments concerning recycling, measures have to be introduced to reduce the negatives and maximize on the positives. This way, recycling would be both beneficial and effective just as it was meant to be when it was initially invented.
The cost of recycling is shifted on to taxpayers when the government provides the essential needs such as water and electricity to recycling companies Remember also that your tax dollars also must be used to pay the employees of government-run recycling programs. (DeSimone 16) This cost is then shifted to tax payers.
To reduce the cost that is burdened on the consumer, most recycling industries can be sold to private companies so that there can be less expenditure incurred by the government in funding the recycling companies. Privatization would reduce the indirect cost incurred by consumer. This would therefore make recycling cheaper since the costs of recycling would be shouldered by the private companies.
To reduce the amount of toxic emission released by recycling companies, several initiatives can be taken by the recycling companies. One positive solution would be reducing the miles that have to be covered in delivering the recyclables to the different recycling centers since they limit the number of post-consumer recyclables. In order to increase recycling, we must work to increase collection opportunities (Tilley 17).
A lot of energy is consumed and toxic emissions are released from the engines of these vehicles while covering the long distance. This can be reduced by building the recycling centers close to each other and also close to the suppliers of other raw materials that are needed during the recycling phase.
Another issue that is related to recycling is the high number plastics that are still being produced by both the recycling companies and those that use virgin raw materials. The problem is, recycling creates the impression that the plastics being produced are recycled therefore the former risk of plastics filling landfills is highly reduced. As a result there are many plastics that are produced and taken back to the market.
They are then taken back to recycling companies as recyclables and the general turnover of plastics to be recycled exceeds the amount that can be recycled at a given time. The excess then has to be taken to the landfills that recycling companies are so much against.
To handle this problem, awareness can be created among consumers to reduce their consumption of plastics and plastic companies also have to take an initiative to reduce the amount of plastics produced. Other means of packaging can also be used for example in packing where photodegradable plastics can be used. Once photodegradable plastics are used, consumers must realize that they can only degrade if exposed to sunlight.
This can only be achieved through widespread awareness among consumers. Another strategy that can be used is to increase the exportation of excess recyclables to other counties such as Japan and China where there are more industries that can recycle them instead of dumping them in landfills Despite strong domestic markets, about 50% of recovered PET and 20% of recovered HDPE is exported to China. (Mateo 13). This would greatly reduce the number of plastics dumped in landfills.
Consumers can also be informed about the benefits of using recycled products both in the international market and the local market. This could be achieved through creation of awareness programs. The myths that recycled products are of poor quality need to be abolished so that consumers can increase their collection of recyclables as well as an increased market for recycled products.
Market for recycled products is a factor hindering the success of recycling companies and the sale of recycled items, therefore creation of a wider and informed market would increase the market for recycled products we are working to increase the collection of plastic through greater consumer education and awareness of recycling opportunities. (Boustead 135).
Recycling has been a concern since the development of plastics and other non-biodegradable products. In an attempt to reduce the capacity and size of landfills that were a danger to environmental conditions, recycling was introduced. Recyclable items include plastics, glass, metal, paper and wood.
The concept of recycling made it easier for individuals to consume product without the guilt of destroying the natural environment by releasing contaminating agents into it involuntarily which is an essential element for survival. Recycling at the point of initiation presented an excellent solution to the problem of landfills and incinerators.
However, with time it has come to the realization of scientists that recycling has not been as effective as it was intended to be initially. Toxic fumes are still being produced and a lot of energy consumed in transportation of the recyclables and their raw materials. Consequently, there was need to go back to the drawing table and reassess what needs to be done in order to ensure that recycling is as effective as it was intended to be.
Measures were and are thus being undertaken to make the market for recycled goods wider and to reduce the overall consumption of non-biodegradable plastics. Also the amount of fuel and energy used in transportation of these recyclables need to be reduced. In order to this, wider markets for both recyclables and finished products from recycling have to be increased. This will be done by creating awareness throughout the international and local markets as well as dealing with the myth that recycled products are of low quality.
Works Cited
Boustead, Ian, Problems in Packaging the environmental issue. New York: Ellis Horwood: Chichester/John Wiley, 1984.
Burn, Shawn. Social Psychology and the Stimulation of Recycling Behaviors: The Block Leader Approach. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 21.8 (2006): 611- 629.
Cozic, Charles. Garbage and Waste. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, 1997.
DeSimone, Bonnie. Rewarding Recyclers, and Finding Gold in the Garbage. New York Times. 2006.
Howell, Garry S. A ten year review of plastics recycling. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 29 (1995): 143-164
Heimlich, Joe. Recycling. Ohio State University Fact Sheet. (n.d) 10 May 2011
Mateo, Martins. What Are Some Disadvantages of Recycling? Ezine articles, 19 Mar 2010. 10 May 2010.
Netzley, Patricia. Issues in the Environment. San Diego, California: Lucent Books, 1998.
Oskamp, Stuart. Resource Conservation and Recycling: Behavior and Policy. Journal of Social Issues. 51. 4 (1995): 157-177.
Tierney, John. Recycling Is Garbage. New York Times 30 June 1996.
Tilley, Kate, Australian report questions benefit of biodegradables, Plastics News, dateline Dec. 17, 2002.
While discussing the plan of the inventory situation, I would like to touch on some primary issues of the subject of discussion. Thus, in my opinion, the most important task is considered to be the principal goal defining. I suppose that understanding of the key factors, which influence the defined item production, is of primary importance. For this reason, I want to point out that the most important steps, which the goal includes, are considered to be production of the item materials, transportation of the product, the product fabrication and postconsumer disposal of the product. These steps are the major issues, I want to draw your attention to.
Main Body
While speaking about the improvement of the inventory situation, one should draw his/her attention to the characterization of raw material. The inventors most important task is to utilize post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic as the primary raw material. Generally, there are a lot of ways to increase the quality of the product. For instance, the inventor is to understand water treatment technology, clean water rinsing processes, etc. To improve the inventory situation, the specialist should remove low-density polymers and maintain intrinsic viscosity and decontamination of the material. On the other hand, he/she is to know numerous material defects that accumulate in the polymeric material. Chemical and physical laboratory analysis of raw material is also to be taken into account.
Increasing of COOH end-groups, reduction in filterability, decrease in color L, increasing of oligomer content, decreasing of crystallization temperature, decreasing of the mechanical properties, broadening of molecular weight distribution, decreasing of dynamic viscosity, increasing of acetaldehyde, decreasing of extractable foreign contaminants, increasing of haze, increasing of color number b are the issues the inventors must take into account while producing the plastic bricks.
The recycling of PET-bottles is considered to be an industrial standard process, which numerous engineering companies are to offer. The re-pelletizing way is also to be taken into account. Although the methodology causes thermal destruction, it has a lot of advantages, including intensive melt filtration, intermediate quality control, modification by additives, product selection, processing flexibility increasing and quality uniformization.
Further processing is related to the production of the following materials: A-PET film for thermoforming, BoPET packaging film, carpet yarn, engineering plastic, filaments, non-woven, packaging stripes, staple fibre and addition to PET virgin production.
As far as PET is recognized to be an excellent barrier component, a lot of products can be made from the material. If people (the consumers) are sure of the product safety, the inventory situation will be also improved. Thus, to attract public attention, the producers can explain that according to the American Chemistry Council, PET has been approved as safe by the FDA and the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI). In 1994, ILSI stated that PET polymer has a long history of safe consumer use, which is supported by human experience and numerous toxicity studies. The American Chemistry Council cautions that products made with PET be used only as indicated by the manufacturer. (What is Polyethylene Terephthalate, 2011)
Conclusion
So, the inventory situation depends upon the operations, which are performed to produce the items. Thus, the most important issues are considered to be chemical and physical laboratory analysis, an industrial standard process and understanding treatment technologies. Public attention attraction is also one of the key elements to succeed.
Do you believe that recycling plastic number two is more cost-effective as compared to the manufacturing of new products?
Recycling has been considered an effective way of managing plastic wastes. According to Fullerton (85), recycling of plastic number two has been considered the most effective way of managing environmental wastes. However, one issue that has raised concern is whether or not manufacturers consider recycling of such plastic wastes to be more cost-effective as compared to manufacturing new products using new raw materials. Most of the manufacturers have always considered the manufacturing of new plastic products to be more cost-effective as compared to the recycling of used materials. Unlike using raw materials, old plastic materials will need more processes to clean in order to make them effective in the production of other plastic materials. This may be considered a costly way of manufacturing new products.
Most companies have, therefore, avoided recycling such products because of the high cost. However, Ackerman (47) notes that recycling should not be viewed rigidly as a way through which companies use wastes products to produce new products. Recycling may also involve re-using of various products in other activities after serving their initial purposes. For instance, containers used to pack laundry products can be used at home for various purposes. They can be used to store pegs used for hanging clothes and such other tasks. That is one way of recycling. The manufacturers can also use old plastic number two to manufacture other plastic products such as toys, plastic lumber, rope, and piping materials.
When can recycling of plastic number two be considered more costly as a way of managing wastes?
Recycling of plastic materials is very important in managing waste appropriately without subjecting the environment to any form of pollution. However, there are instances when it can be considered as an ineffective way of managing plastic wastes, given the associated costs. For instance, the plastic materials that are used to wrap products in the supermarket are very dangerous to the environment. Environmental agencies have been recommending the recycling of these materials as the most cost-effective way of managing them. However, there are instances when manufacturers would consider recycling of plastic number two more costly than manufacturing new products using the raw materials. One such case may arise when such plastic materials have been subjected to dirt. In order to recycle them, a lot of processes will have to be undertaken, a fact that can make the cost of the process to be very high. In such circumstances, the waste is best-managed using landfills (Porter 58).
Compare the cost-effectiveness of recycling plastic number two in the United States and China?
There has been an effort to manage plastic wastes through recycling in China and the United States. However, the approach taken by the United States in recycling plastic wastes is different from the approach taken by China. While the recycling of such wastes in China is largely controlled by state organs, the United States has privatized this process. Privatizing the process of recycling plastic wastes has proven to be more cost-effective than running the facility under the direct management of the government. The government should only come in as a regulator. This is why the cost of recycling of plastic number two wastes is more costly in China than in the United States.
Works Cited
Ackerman, Frank. Why Do We Recycle: Markets, Values, and Public Policy. Washington: Island Press, 2006. Print.
Fullerton, Don. The Economics of Household Garbage and Recycling Behavior. Cheltenham: Elgar, 2002. Print.
Porter, Richard. The Economics of Waste. Washington: Resources for the Future, 2002. Print.
I wish to express my most profound gratitude to Norman Nimmo, the Municipal Recycling Coordinator for the City of Lawrence, for allowing me the opportunity to meet him to discuss the towns new waste management and recycling program, and providing me with valuable references. My sincere appreciation also goes to Tom Lynch, for giving me a tour of the Hudson, NH transfer facility, which processes Lawrence citys recycled material. My gratefulness to Dr. R M Jackson, professor of English at UNH, for guiding me to use my literacy in this project from an enhanced perspective, and for directing me the relevant articles on the subject of this research. I would also like to place on record my sincere gratitude to Tom Billbrough for providing insightful feedback on the multiple drafts of the survey and this report. My heartfelt thanks also to Maxima Perez and Laura Perez for distributing printed surveys, and to Natasha Urena and Jennifer Reyes whose contribution by going door to door in Lawrence with me to census individuals recycling practice were instrumental in this work.
I dedicate this research project to my four year old daughter Alleyah, who had to sacrifice her daily routine for many weeks why I was handling this project.
Executive Summary
Recycling is a highly accepted practice of stewardship in the United States, and Latinos represent a significant portion of the US population. However, studies claim that most of them have little involvement with recycling efforts. Informal recycling is a common phenomenon in Latin America and individuals that live in extreme poverty like waste pickers, collect items directly from dumps for their survival. Families of modest living pass used items, such as clothes, furniture, etc., among family members and friends to augment their resources. In contrast, programmed recycling is for an elite group of educated people albeit a very small percentage, that understand environmental impact and economic advantages of this system.
Multiple studies have established that Hispanic of low socio-economic levels, living in the US, alienate themselves from environmental efforts such as recycling. For the most part, this occurs due to the lack of awareness in the matter and/or personal cultural experiences. Meanwhile, more educated and those in the higher socio-economic class, tend to engage in environmental efforts. This is different for the second and successive generations of Latino immigrants, that are born and raised in the US who express more interest in environmental matters. A survey conducted in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a city with high Latino population, found analog results with the remarkable difference that Latinos are receptive to recycling, once they understand the concept.
Introduction
People, at every stage of their development, remained closely connected with their external environment. Unfortunately, ever since the occurrence of the Industrial Revolution humans began their dangerous interference with the natural environment and this trend continued to gain intensity with the passage of time. In the first century of the referenced era, the United States had produced a modest volume of waste that had been managed through a dilute and disperse process, where factories dispose their waste in nearby rivers. As the technological and economic progress gained momentum so did the production of waste. A new waste management method, concentrate and contain, consisting of storing refuse in tanks and/or burying it, substituted the earlier practice. Unfortunately, neither of former, nor the latter could eliminate the hazards associated, posing a threat to public health and natural ecosystems.
The problem of continuously growing accumulation of waste due to population increase was addressed with a new concept called the integrated waste management (IWM), which emphasized the three Rs of reducing waste: reusing materials, and recycling. Yet, solid-waste management continues to be a problem in the Unites States as well as other parts of the world, particularly developing countries like Latin America. In these nations is common to dispose waste in open dumps that are not regulated, which consequently become potential health hazards. Individuals may find illegal waste dumping convenient and inexpensive as they might not be measuring the environmental consequences from this practice. However, people perspective on this issue can be change by creating awareness through environmental educational programs to teach these individuals that a lot of the dumped material can be recycled and reused. The main aim of environmental science is addressing the interaction of the people and nature in the context of such factors as waste management, urbanization, and sustainability within a global perspective (Botkin and Keller).
Background
Recycling, which is entirely different from the concept of reuse, is the process of using abandoned materials to create new products. Nature is the best example of recycling, where the fluxes of natural cycles (water, carbon, nitrogen among others cycles) have remained intact theoretically, preserving the same amount of material throughout the history of the earth, with the exception of changes due to human interference. Nature always serves as a perfect model for human to follow and informal forms of recycling have existed since the beginning of humanity. Organized recycling is an idea that started to evolve in the nineteen century, and has become progressively better over time. Recycling is based on the concept that there is a dual benefit in reusing products from a economic and environmental perspective. Ideally, recycling permits us to reuse a product at a lower cost than what we would have incurred if the product were made from raw materials. Besides, it also helps in conserving natural resources, minimizing waste disposal and the potential environmental contamination that can results from waste storage. The net economic and environmental benefits of recycling over its costs are significant, when both environmental and monetary factors are carefully examined and taken into account. Therefore, its important to understand and modify, if necessary, individual perspectives and involvement in the context of recycling.
Overview of the past Recycling History
Waste management and recycling can be perceived as inherently intertwined. The problem of handling solid waste dates back to the time when people have begun to settle in communities, approximately around 10,000 BC. During this period, the total population of the world was probably less than a few million, but enough for people to notice the accretion of waste, particularly in thickly populated areas. At this time, the accumulation of garbage was treated as an aesthetic issue: refuse looked repulsive, smelled bad and attracted pests. Therefore, procedures were prescribed to collect and remove trash away from colonized areas. Athens is known to have started the first municipal dump in the Western hemisphere, around 400 BC, where waste was disposed in open areas and left exposed. Yet, not much attention was given to the methods used to accomplish removing the garbage out of sight as well as mitigating the environmental repercussions of practices such as incineration. Though recycling existed during this time it mainly stemmed from the pressing need rather than as a scientific means. (Kimball).
The emergence of agriculture as a way of livelihood caused greater density of people in specific locations and the Industrial Revolution, with improvement in health care and the supply of food, entailed an exponential increase in human population. This, in turn, resulted in more waste and the problems associated with the open dump and incineration practices which were in vogue during the time became evident as vectors diseases spread. Scientists began to gain a better understanding of the disadvantages of these waste disposal methods and negative impacts such practices have on the environment. As a result, authorities implemented more appropriate methods of waste management like controlled dumps, which were covered with layers of dirt at the end of the day. Subsequently, recycling practices emerged, not in the context of saving the environment, but to satisfy individual needs. For example, during World War II, the US used to recycle scrap metals and paper for the war effort. However, the economic prosperity of the post war created a disposal industry that promoted the idea of single used items as a necessity of modern life-style. (Kimball).
The discovery of toxins in the land, water and air, as presented in Rachel Carsons book Silent Spring, published in 1962, created consciousness about the negative impacts that humans cause on the earth. This led to an environmental movement with the motive to protect our planet. In fact, the US government created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970, as a response to public outcry on environmental concerns. Subsequently, it also passed a federal law, known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in 1976, to regulate the disposal of solid waste. Four years later, in 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as the Superfund, to establish procedures for release of perilous substances in the atmosphere, to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites. Meanwhile, waste disposal continued to grow as a tangible and sensitive problem that worried many people. A particular incident in the spring of 1987, involving a vessel called Mobro, carrying 3100 tons of trash and wandering in the Atlantic Ocean with no place to unload its cargo, was highly publicized by the renowned media, such as Newsweek and Time magazines. This story created a sense of urgency to further refine the waste management practices.
While it is true that landfill space shortage has neither posed a problem in the past nor is it a predicament in the US today, with the exception of heavily populated areas such as New York, it is important to reduce waste and recycle it to manage this redundant source in an economical and efficient manner with a view to protect the environment. The advancement in modern technology and medicine, particularly in developed nations, has permitted prolongation of life expectancy besides allowing luxurious lifestyles to a larger number of people, with the addition of a wider range of commodities. Waste generation, obviously, is directly proportionate to the increase in population, and the additional commodities available to these individuals translate to consumerism where in a throw away culture becomes dominant. This further leads to the overuse of natural resources and consequent environmental degradation. As resources are used in plenty, the byproduct of waste also increases in tandem. A tangential evidence of this is 254 million tons of Municipal Solid Waste that the United States generated in the year 2007. Fortunately, according to the United States EPAs MSW 2007 annual report, 63.3 million tons (from the 254.3 million tons produced) was recycled, representing a 25% reduction of garbage in the waste stream that did not require landfill disposal.
Recycling, Why Does It Matter?
Lomborg, a skeptical environmentalist, claims that recycling is not of much importance. He predicts that all American waste over the next century can be disposed in one single landfill of an area equivalent to less than 0.01% of the US land. Indeed, this is correct, however living next to a disposal site is not desirable proposition. The general attitude towards this is recognized as NIMBY or not in my backyard. Additionally, the United States presently count with meticulous engineered landfills that are safer than ever before. Yet, there is always the possibility of unforeseen and/or unpredicted events. Waste management problem remains a grave social concern in our society, mostly due to poor waste disposal practices that must be dealt with. An example of this is the island of plastic waste, floating in the Pacific Ocean as a result of the rampant, unlawful dump practices. Charles Moore, the oceanographer who discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch stated that this floating island of plastic waste contains more than 100 tons of garbage, and the volume continues to increase. This has a tremendous negative impact on the biota, killing animals and plants, and causing damage to the environmental in general. I personally witnessed the horrible consequences of disposing waste in the water in a visit to the Miami Aquarium. Phyllis, a female manatee, was found entangled in a nylon strapping, probably used to wrap a newspaper that was later thrown into the water. The string got wrapped around the mammal body, and as she grew, the strap cut deep into her flesh almost dividing her body in two halves, consequently causing severe infections. Events like this tell us that we must create consciousness among everyone to avoid actions that cause negative impacts on nature. A partial, but very significant solution to this would be increasing recycling efforts to recover plastics materials, particularly along the beach and ocean front, and thereby reducing the possible amount of trash that is dumped in water.
A fact also remains that the average cost of disposal at a landfill in the United States is approximately $40 per ton, and even the higher price of about $80 per ton, may be cheaper than the cost involved in recycling. However, the element of potential saving in terms of the cost of landfill disposal versus recycling seems immaterial when one considers the negative impacts on environment. It is also relevant that in areas where the concentration of population is quite high, the entire perspective changes. For example, heavily urbanized cities, such as New York, may have to incur hefty expenses for the option of exporting their waste out of state, or pay much higher rate for landfill disposal and this price is rapidly increasing. In fact, it is expected to exceed the cost of recycling within the timeframe of about a decade. Furthermore, the value of reusing/recycling derives a new perspective in the present economic scenario. More individuals are turning to free-sharing websites such as craigslist.com, shopgoodwill.com, and greenumbrella.org, to buy, sell, swap, give away, loan or borrow secondhand items. One is no longer restrained to buy used books because nowadays those are available for borrowing too, as if from a library. APPENDIX WITH LIST The truth is that when recycling programs for the right products are run efficiently, they signify tremendous environmental and economic investment. Despite these benefits, programmable recycling is not understood and/or practiced in areas of the world where it could be detrimental to the environment and the economic, as is the case with Latin America.
Recycling in Latin America
Refuse disposal is closely interconnected with climate change. Waste management, even when is efficient, requires procedures that entail pollution. Trash pickup trucks operation is one of the multiple steps that require the burning of fossil fuels, an agent responsible for producing carbon dioxide and one of the main heat-trapping greenhouse gas responsible for average global temperature increase, to properly dispose garbage (Strasser). The 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development asserted that ramifications of greenhouse effect might become evident, as early as the next century, increasing the average global temperatures enough to shift fertile land and raise sea levels to flood coastal areas (UNEP 42). This change would severely affect Latin America as its economic is heavily dependent on agriculture. The effects of climate change in Latin America have already been perceived, with the effects of el Nino, which tends to increase the geographic distribution of disease vector organisms, and amplifies the risk to contract vector born diseases like malaria and dengue fever. Furthermore, climate change is thought to be responsible for the re-infestation of Aedes aegypti mosquito, as presented in the figure below, the responsible agent for the transmission of yellow fever and dengue fever. Moreover, although programmable recycling is not practiced in Latin America, Latinos that migrate to the Untied States tend to accept and adopt the concept once they understand it. This happens mostly through acculturation, academic education and moving into a more elevated socio-economic status.
Michael Greenberg, a professor at the School of Planning and Public Policy in Rutgers University, surveyed 1513 New Jersey citizens in 2004 to determine the residents concerns about the environment. The results revealed that non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic white, and English-speaking Hispanic Americans were more concerned about environmental pollution problems than Spanish-language Hispanic Americans (3). A national study conducted by Cassandra Johnson, J.M. Bowker and H. Ken Cordell, USDA Forest Service Scientists, showed that foreign-born Latinos were less likely than Whites to participate in environment related matters. Meanwhile US born Latinos had similar environmental interests and a tendency as the Whites (5). The survey, conducted among 120 citizens of Lawrence, Massachusetts, yielded comparable results, with the remarkable difference that the study isolated probable causes that refrain first generation Spanish-Speaking Latinos, one of the major ones being the of exposure to organized recycling efforts in their country of origin.
In the aforementioned survey, forty-nine participants identified themselves as first generation Latino/Hispanic. However, only one person, from Colombia, claimed to recycled paper and plastic in that persons country of origin. The remaining forty-eight participants, from the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Venezuela, specified that they did not recycle. Almost half of this group (21 of 48) specified that they are either not familiar with the term recycling or simply do not recycle. This is despite the fact that most of this participants (19 of 21) reported to have completed at least their high school studies and have been living in the US for three years or more. This is consistent with the recycling practice in their country of origin.
The Dominican Republic counts with isolated recycling efforts, but it does not have a structured program in place. According to the report that the Dominican Republic presented to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in the year 2003, the country produced 7,000 ton of waste daily, of which 25% is recyclable. However, only 1-2% is recycle primarily by buzos or waste pickers that search in the trash looking for items of value. Similarly, in Brazil, it is quite common that several thousands of scavengers dig through tons of waste to sorting items that can be reused or resold. Venezuela has a somewhat organized recycling program, but the general public does not have much participation in it. VITALIS, the biggest non-profit institution in Venezuela that promotes the concepts of sustainability and nature conservation, reports that the country produces 18,000 ton of trash daily, of which 15-20% is recycled, but only a mere one fifth of the recycled material undergoes the final treatment for proper recovery.
All recycling programs in Latin America fall in the same light of the spectrum as the ones previously described.
However, recycling practice among Latinos changes significantly when they migrate to the United States and become exposed environmental campaigns. As they remain acculturated to the US ways, Latinos interest in the environment increases, particularly with successive generations being born in the United States. This is most likely due to the change in perspective of cultural value about the environment. The overwhelming Latino interest and participation in the New Lawrences waste disposal and recycling program evidence this occurrence.
City of Lawrence Recycling Program
Lawrence recycling program consists of one recycling coordinator, who serves a population of 72,000 citizens. The shortage of staff in the citys recycling program mainly occurs due to the lack of budget. The city of Lawrence primarily consists of immigrants with scarce economic resources. According to the US Census for the year 2000, 59.7% the citys population is Latino/Hispanic, and their household income ($27,983) is thirty-three percent lower than the national average ($41,994). The waste management program in this city has been revolutionized with the implementation of new virtually automated systems consisting of mechanized trucks, which has helped to evoke the interest of the citizens about trash disposal and recycling practices. The city of Lawrence signed a $2.1 million dollar contract with Allied Waste Services to pick the average 32,000 tons of refuse the city produces per year, and collect the recycle material at no additional cost, as long the refuse and recycled volumes do not surpasses the aforementioned unit of weight. Under this program, each household is restricted to 65gal of trash, which is lesser in volume than what an individual currently disposes. However, Lawrencians are being urged to recycle to make up for the deficit and to help the environment also in turn. Furthermore, the city will no longer pick up commercial trash, but Allied Waste Services will collect their recycled items for free. As shown in the figure below, approximately 60% of the city has received the new 65gal carts and recycling bins, these have not been issued yet at the inner city due to risk of mechanized pick up in this high population density area.
Lawrences citizens, particularly the Latino population, have been highly responsive to the conversion of this automated duel stream recycling program. The city distributed 350 recycling bins, to at least 80% to Hispanic residents, in the month of November 2009 alone, and an additional 750 units have been ordered for distribution during the next month. The first round of automated thrash collection started as of November 10, 2009. I have captured a snap of this in the picture in the cover sheet of this report, which shows the newly receptacles in Andover Street on the first automated trash collection day. The response of the population has been nothing less than overwhelming to the point that an additional truck was added to the route to collect recycled materials. During the first three weeks, the city practiced 100% tolerance to commercial trash, which can amount to 60-70 tons per week, while individual adjusted to the new system. Even then, the city reduced the solid waste by 28 tons the first week, and 100 tons in each subsequent two weeks, for a total reduction of 278 ton in the first three weeks. This translates into a projected saving of $300K to the city of Lawrence, which currently produces an average of 32,000 tons of solid waste in the year and pays $57 per ton to dispose it. The recycled material collected in Lawrence is brought to transfer facility in Hudson, New Hampshire, where the items are further classified by a conveyor belt system and separated in a table of approximately 15 individuals who stand in front of chutes to push the items down.
Recycling plays an important role in the reduction of MSW. The recycling rate in the US is 32.3%, as of 2008, and the goal figure is to reach 35%. A survey indicated active participation and interest on the part of Latinos/Hispanic in recycling, particularly in the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Data Collection & Analysis
Surveying Means and Methods
For the purpose of this survey, the population identified as Hispanic/Latinos are those who were born in Latin America or those individuals that were born somewhere else but had Hispanic/Latino roots through their parents or grandparents. Individuals who were born outside the United States and migrated to the country later on in their lives are considered as first generation immigrants.
This discussion is based on a survey that resorted to postings online and print materials distributed to the sample population. The online survey was disseminated through websites such as facebook.com, myspace.com, realidadhispana.com, personal contacts of researcher, database of local non-profit (FFW, Inc.) organizations etc. The printed survey was randomly distributed at Lawrence public library, post office, local community college (in both locations, Lawrence and Haverhill), public housing (Beacons Apartment) and private housing (JPI Apartments), and a local manufactory (New Balance Athletic Shoes, Inc). The survey of 120 young adults of age 14 and above began in October 2009 and was concluded in November 2009. The online version of the survey was made available in English as well as Spanish languages, and both links were distributed simultaneously. The print version of the survey was also available in both these languages, and the surveyors were screened for race, ethnicity and language preference before the survey materials were handed over to them. In certain cases, the researcher used the method of direct questions, to avoid possible refusal or disinclination to participate. The primary target population was Latino/Hispanic for the purpose of establishing the amount of recycling among first generation of immigrants versus other generations with Latino/Hispanic roots born in the United States.
The survey contained a total of fifteen questions, five of which were intended to establish recycling habits or tendency in the household as per the responders interpretation. The other three verified race/ethnicity, and the remaining seven inquired about personal factors, such as education and socio-economic status etc that had been associated to the affinity towards the concept of recycling in the previous studies.
The order of personal and general questions was randomly alternated to avoid rejection by prospective participants. The first three questions determined if the person was Latino/ Hispanic and whether the individual was a first generation immigrant in the United States or otherwise. The following five questions established the households current and past (in the case of first generation immigrants) recycling practice as well as education level. In some instances, the person answering the survey did not recycle, whereas the other family members did. The next four questions determined the individuals place of residence, households income level and age group. The last two questions measured the individuals interest to learn about recycling and/or to participate in a recycling program. The final item in the survey was a space for comments.
Survey Findings
A total of 120 responded indicated their race/ethnicity: 83% Latinos (n=100) and 17 % Non-Latinos (n=20). The sample was not expected to accurately represent the population as the sampling was biased toward nonwhite populations in the city of Lawrence and because several individuals from other geographical areas participated in the survey, 71% (n=85) respondent claimed to live in the city of Lawrence, the remaining participants were found to live in adjacent cities and nearby states. The sample was designed to establish recycling patterns among Latinos, specifically first generation of immigrants versus other generations.
80% identified themselves as Latinos, of which 34% are first generation and 42% have Latino/Hispanic roots, and all have lived three or more years in the United States
67% admitted that they recycle, 25% did not recycle and 8% did not know the term
3% of first generation recycled in their country of origin, but failed to pinpoint which items, as specified in the survey
66% lived in Lawrence, 3% in Methuen, 1.5% in Haverhill and the remaining 28% in other cities
Of the 25% that does not recycle, 71% were interested in learning about it and/or starting to participate in a recycling program
61% of participants were interested in a program to exchange used items among the members of their community
16 % of participants were not interested and 22% were undecided. From talking to people in house to house surveying, it appeared likely that the question was not clear to some, and, as a result, they could not make a decision.
People wanted to recycle, but did not know from where to get relevant information
Conclusions
Provided that recycling plays a pivotal role in preserving the environment and Hispanic are the second largest growing group in the United States, engaging the Latino population in recycling efforts will result in dual benefits of having cleaner inner cities, even in the areas where the poor dwell, conserving natural resources, and ultimately contributing to save the environment. The US EPA recognizes this, which reflects in the effort of launching a Spanish recycling website to reach out to the Hispanic communities (). The Census Bureau projects that the nonwhite population is expected to increase by more than 100 million by the year 2050. Most of the growth is expected to be in Hispanics (from 11 to 24%). Provided that Latinos/Hispanic do embrace the idea of recycling once they are exposed to the concept and understand it, further education efforts should be made to engage this group in this important effort.
Recommendations
Organized educational effort on environmental issues should be continued to be refined and practice to engage more Latinos in recycling efforts.
Education programs should target both children and adults.
Disseminating education materials to students, such as activity pamphlets appropriate for their education level creates consciousness among the younger population. Distributing informative material on the significance of environmental safety will also go a long way in creating awareness.
The city of Lawrence should form a collaborative partnership among the current local recycling non-profit organizations, such as Lawrence Brown Works, and Lawrence Environmental Action Group, to agree on community outreach strategies to outweigh the lack of staff to oversee the program. Additionally, recycling information should be easily accessible and continuously updated in the citys website. Given that the city lacks the staff and funds supervise recycling education effort, a committee of volunteers should be formed through recruiting professionals and college students, former and current citizens of Lawrence, to volunteer their time to structure the recycling program, evaluating it and making necessary modifications.
Develop compact recycling containers, with a compactor attached. Space is an issue for low-income family that most likely live in small spaces, and therefore do not have a place to accommodate big bins.
Work Cited
Your Gateway to Census 2000. United States Census 2000, 2000. Web.
Botkin, Daniel B, and Edward A. Keller. Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet. 7th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2009. Print.
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education: On your Mark, Set& Recycle. Academic Search Premier 26.17 (2009): 5-5. Web.
Doucette, Kitt. An ocean of Plastic: Rolling Stone. Academic Search Premier 1090 (2009): 54-57. Web.
Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2007 Facts and Figures. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2008. Web.
Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2008. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2009. Web.
Greenberg, Michael R. Concern about Environmental Pollution: How Much Difference Do Race and Ethnicity Make? A New Jersey Case Study. Environmental Health Perspectives 113.4 (2005): 369-374. GreenFILE. Web.
Hutchinson, Alex. Is Recycling Worth it? Popular Mechanics 185.12 (2008): 68-76. Academic Search Premier Web.
Johnson, Cassandra Y, et al. Ethic Variation in Environmental Belief and Behavior: An Examination of the New Ecological Paradigm in a Social Psychological Context. Environment & Behavior 36.2 (2004): 157-186. GreenFILE. Web.
McDonough, William, and Michael Braungart. Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way we Make Things. New York: North Point Press, 2002. Print.
Modern Landfills: A Far Cry from the Past. Washington: National Solid Wastes Management Association, 2008. Print.
Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2005 Facts and Figures. EPA, 2006. Print.
National Solid Wastes Management Association. Modern Landfills: A Far Cry from the Past. Washington, 2008. Print.
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Rogers, Heather. Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage. New York: The New Press, 2005. Print.
Saphores, Jean-Daniel M, and Hilary Nixon. Information and the decision to recycle: results from a survey of US households. Environmental Planning & Management 52.2 (2009): 257-277. GreenFILE. Web.
Strasser, Susan. Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash. New York: Henry Holt, 1999. Print.
The Official Website of VITALIS. 2009. Web.
UNCTD; United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. 2003. Web.
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Young, Mitchell, ed. Garbage and Recycling. New York: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Print.
Sustainability of a project depends on the ability of the management unit to understand the environmental factors that may pose any form of threat to its normal operations. This study sought to analyze sustainability of a new recycling plant that is meant to use plastic wastes within the United Arab Emirates.
These environmental factors have different impact on the ability of this project to achieve its objectives. The management team must develop a deep understanding of itself, especially the corporate structure. Understanding the internal environment makes it possible for the management to formulate ways of conforming to the external forces. Corporate issues should be adequately addressed before the project can be officiated. When the project owners and the management unit have developed a detailed understanding of the internal environmental issues, it would be necessary to analyze the external environment.
When doing this, it is be important to identify some of the opportunities that the external environmental factors present. It would also be necessary to identify the threats associated with some of the environmental factors. This project of recycling plastic wastes is viable if implemented in the right manner. Not only is it focused on creating wealth for the owners, but also plays an important role in reducing pollution in the environment. It is a creative way of finding other economic benefits from wastes. This makes it easy for the project to receive support from various stakeholders in a society that has become very sensitive to issues of environmental protection.
Introduction
Project sustainability is one of the most important factors that have to be considered before a new project can be approved by the relevant authorities. A project should be sustainable over a given period depending on its size, the industry within which it operates, and the financial investment that it has consumed. According to Adetule (2011, p. 62), project sustainability can be analyzed from the environmental perspective. The scholar says that the environment where a firm operates plays an important role in determining its sustainability.
For a project to be sustainable, it is important to ensure that environmental factors that have direct impact on its normal operations are factored in during its implementation process. Some of these environmental factors are always out of control of a firm. This means that there would be no means of manipulating these factors in favor of a firm. It would force such a business unit to ensure that it is flexible enough to change whenever there is a change in these environmental factors.
When developing a new project, it would be vital for the project management to develop flexible management approaches that would be conscious of the changing environmental factors. The project under focus is a plastic waste recycling plant. The project is an initiative of a group of students who are not only keen on starting a viable business unit, but are also concerned about the effect of plastic wastes on the environment. This research will analyze its sustainability based on various environmental factors.
Background of the Project
This project is an initiative of five students who were concerned about the increasing volume of plastic wastes in this city and the country at large. It was clear that plastic wastes are becoming a menace in the country, especially the thin plastic bags commonly used in wrappings. The United Arab Emirates is one of the fastest developing economies in the world. However, if these wastes are not managed properly, it can reach a point where it may interfere with the normal economic development. The focus of this project is to recycle plastic wastes to manufacture other plastic materials.
The initial cost of the project is particularly high because of the need to buy the machines to be used in the recycling process. The project members will contribute a given percentage, while the other percentage will be from well wishers who are willing to support this noble cause. The team will need to borrow some money from financial institutions in order to boost financial base of this project. The project will involve collecting of plastic wastes from the residential areas where they are commonly found. These materials would be taken to the recycling plant where they will be used to manufacture other plastic materials. The proceeds from this economic activity will be reinvested in order to expand the operations of the firm.
Analysis of the Project Environmental Context
According to Watson (1996, p. 39), business environment has become increasingly competitive because of the various changes that are taking place in the environment. Firms are currently faced with numerous challenges, which require due diligence in order to achieve the desired results. When starting a new project, it is important to understand some of the environmental factors that may affect the operations of the firm either positively or negatively.
Analyzing the environmental context of a project helps the stakeholders understand what they should expect when the project is initiated. For example, the financiers of this project would want to know the viability of the project before giving out their money. People who will be hired would be interested in knowing the sustainability of the project as a way of determining their job security.
The owners of the project should be aware of the environmental forces so that they can know how to manipulate internal environmental factors to be in line with the external environment (Dobson & Hietala 2011, p. 78). This information would be important in defining the mission and vision of the project before it is started. These environmental issues are discussed in details in this paper.
Corporate issues
This is a new project that is about to be implemented, and the owners believe that it is a viable business that will be able to generate a lot of profit, besides reducing the impact of pollution caused by plastic wastes in the environment. The process of recycling plastic wastes can be costly and complex. It is, therefore, important to define a corporate structure that would be able to address these issues. The management structure must be very clear in order to make all the stakeholders to understand their role in this project. Below is the management structure that will be used when the project will be initiated.
As shown in the above diagram, the project management structure will be simple, with some departments being merged with others as a way of reducing cost of operations. The project manager will be at the top management unit in this project. There will be three departments, which include manufacturing, finance, and marketing.
It is important to note that three departments have been reduced into smaller operational units and put under other departments. The human resource unit was merged with the manufacturing unit to make the process of managing employees easier and less costly. The accounts unit was merged with finance, and transport unit was put under the marketing department. The three units will become semi-autonomous departments as the firm grows.
It would also be necessary to define the leadership approach that would be used when running this project. According to Schwalbe (2005, p. 56), Theory of Transformational leadership has gained a lot of relevance in the current society. This scholar says that transformational leadership is the solution to managing employees in this century.
It eliminates the dictatorial management approach used before where a leader could not be questioned, and his or her instructions remained a law within a given firm. In its place, it creates a consultative management approach where a leader tries to understand junior employees with the view of developing policies that would be universally acceptable. It seeks to create a workplace environment where the leader inspires junior employees by identifying their potential and encouraging them to outsmart their current output.
Political issues
Political issues should be analyzed in order to determine the impact they may have on the normal operations of the project. According to Nagarajan (2005, p. 78), before starting up a project, it would be necessary to determine the political goodwill. Political leaders have direct impact on the sustainability of a project. In this project, the owners feel that they shall get full support of the leaders.
One of the most sensitive issues in the political environment today in this country is the need to protect the environment. The political leaders have been very vocal in urging other arms of the government to find ways of maintaining a clean environment. The focus of this project is not only on creating wealth, but also on reducing plastic pollution, which is almost becoming a menace in the country. Given the fact that this firm will offer more employment opportunities to the youth, it would be very likely that the political class would want to support it.
Another assuring factor about the political issues is that the political leadership of this country has not been acting against business startups, especially those that are initiated by youth. In fact the leaders have come out strongly to encourage young entrepreneurs to try various business projects. This means that the project may get some support from the political leaders. The political environment also defines the security and safety of business entity. As Harvey (2005, p. 90) observes, a business unit cannot thrive in an environment that lacks security. The Emirati government has maintained political stability and security that would enable this new project to start off without any form of fear. This gives this firm an edge towards achieving its objectives.
Economic issues
The economic environment is another factor that would have to be analyzed before the project is initiated. According to Hamilton (2004, p. 87), the economic environment plays a pivotal role in the success of any project. The economic environment would affect this project in a number of ways. One of the ways that this project will be affected by the economic environment is in terms of accessing funds. When there is inflation, Davidson (2003, p. 67) says that governments always encourage banks to avoid giving out loans as a way of reducing the currency flow in the economy.
This will limit sources of finance that is available for this project. Inflation will also have the effect of making the cost of production to shoot. Raw materials will be costly, and employees will demand higher salaries. This will force the firm to charge higher prices for its products, a fact that will have the overall effect of reduced sales for this firm. Consumers will also try to limit their purchase of this product in an attempt to regulate their expenditure in response to the changing economic factors. In United Arab Emirates, the economic environment has remained relatively stable despite the recent recession that was experienced in many parts of the world.
In fact, the City of Dubai has become one of the leading economic hubs in the world, attracting a lot of traders from the third world countries. This stable economic environment will enable this project to be successful. With the increasing relevance of Dubai as a worlds economic hub, the products made from this company would easily get the right market. It would be necessary for the management of this project to come up with measures that can help mitigate economic challenges. Although the economy of this country is currently stable, it may not be easy to predict what economic environment would be like in future. In order to ensure that the project remains sustainable even in such cases, coming up with a management strategy that would address such issues may be necessary.
Physical issues
It would be necessary to ensure that physical issues relating to this project are adequately addressed. For instance, the management would need to ensure that the physical location meets the requirements put in place by the government regarding industrial positioning (Baker & Martin 2011, p. 78). This means that the plant should not be located in a densely populated residential area.
The plant must have all the equipments needed to operate a plastic recycling company. The materials used must be readily available in locations that can easily be accessed. It would also be prudent to ensure that the physical location of the project is a place that can easily be accessed by various means of transport. The location must have roads that would link it to the market and sources of raw materials.
Usability issues
Every project always has some specific objectives that should be accomplished when it is properly implemented. Usability issues refer to the benefit that such a given project would yield to the owners or any other stakeholder who is directly engaged in its implementation. In this project, the usability would be analyzed from two perspectives. The first perspective would be how successful the project is in eliminating plastic wastes in this society. The second perspective would be how relevant the products of this firm are in meeting market demands, and in achieving the intended profit. The products should be of good quality in order to attract a pool of loyal customers.
Ecological issues
The ecological issues in the Emirati society have attracted a lot of attention from many stakeholders who are concerned about the future of our environment. Measures have been put in place by environmental agencies and the national government to help reduce pollution of the environment. Although this project focuses on eliminating plastic wastes from the environment, its operations should not expose the environment to further damage. The national government has given a set percentage of carbon that a given factory is permitted to emit within a given period of time.
This new project must find ways of operating within the set standards in order to avoid facing litigation. According to Blanchard (2004, p. 98), sustainability theory lays a lot of emphasis on the planet as one of the most important pillars of sustainability. This theory holds that a business unit cannot achieve sustainability without protecting the environment where it operates. When a firm fails to protect the environment, it may not be able to support its activities. As one of the three pillars of sustainability, it would be important to ensure that this project runs with a clear focus on how to ensure that the environment is safe.
Conclusion
Project sustainability depends on environmental factors that have direct or indirect impact on its normal operations. Understanding these environmental factors makes it possible for the firm to come up with ways of managing them. First, a firm should understand its internal environment in order to determine its capacity and limitations in the market. The corporate structure is vital in defining leadership of a project. This projects corporate structure has clearly been defined. When the management has developed an understanding of the internal environment, it would be necessary to analyze external environmental factors. The focus should always be on how the internal environmental factors can be manipulated to ensure that they are in conformity with the external environmental factors in order to achieve success.
List of References
Adetule, J 2011, Handbook on management theories, Author House, Bloomington.
Baker, H & Martin 2011, Capital structure & corporate financing decisions: Theory, evidence, and practice, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken.
Blanchard, B 2004, Logistics engineering and management, Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River.
Davidson, M 2003, Frame Managing Projects in Organizations, How to Make the Best Use of Time, Technique, and People, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Dobson, I & Hietala, J 2011, Risk management: The Open Group guide, Van Haren Publishers, Zaltbommel.
Hamilton, A 2004, Handbook of Project Management Procedures, TTL Publishing, New York.
Harvey, L 2005, Project Portfolio Management, A Practical Guide to Selecting Projects, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Nagarajan, K 2005, Project management, New Age International, New Delhi.
Schwalbe, K 2005, Introduction to Project Management, Course Technology, New York.
Watson, T 1996, Motivation: Thats Maslow, isnt it, Management Learning, vol. 27. no. 10, pp. 447-464.
Recycling of resources is a hugely significant action in day-to-day life. In the examinations of what it entails, it is the course of action where already used materials; are in beneficial use. Waste management is as a crucial environmental issue, where recycling forms the key method which promotes it. Therefore, the consideration of it lies on the bases of it as an important method of promoting sustainable development, through conservation of the environment. This process reduces various environmental impacts and helps in saving natural resources (Lawson 59). Therefore, this discussion focuses on the importance of recycling of papers instead of burning them. The discussion also points out the environmental impacts. These impacts occur when burning takes place. At the same time, the discussion explains the benefits, which have the likelihood of attainment in recycling.
To begin with, there are numerous environmental impacts caused when burning takes place. Air pollution is an environmental impact, which forms a crucial part in burning. There are health issues, which relates with polluted air when inhaled by human, such a clogging of the respiratory system and coughing. Death cases are common in an air-polluted environment than a less polluted one- as there are more particles inhaled. Burning of papers promotes a higher level of forest and tree degradation in the process of production of new papers. Trees serve an immensely significant role in the environments as they act as carbon sinkers (William G. Camp 15). This in turn, leads to acceleration of carbon dioxide the greenhouse gas added in the atmosphere-, which contributes to global warming. Greenhouse gases deplete the ozone layer; thus, the ultra violet rays reach the earth surface without filtration. Directs ultra violet rays are threats to human health. There have been cases of skin cancer, which occurs because of being into contacts with these rays.
There are also other serious environmental impacts, which accompany global warming such as droughts. Droughts have greater impacts not only on human beings but also on vegetation. Human beings and animals die out of starvation and lack of water, due to drying up of vegetation and rivers. Forest depletion occurs in the action of production of new papers, promotes climate change (Duraiappah 7). Trees are particularly significant in the water cycle process, which supports this fact; the fewer the trees the little amount of rainfall available. Water is the vital component that leads to promotion of life in all aspects. In the water cycle, replenishment occurs in water bodies such as oceans. Water bodies serve as prime carbon sinkers, thus, the more the amount of water in them, the more carbon is absorbed. Burning also promotes the use of more energy in the production of new papers. Energy used during recycling is less than the one used when producing new papers. More energy used leads to more production of greenhouse gases as fuel is used in the process, thus increasing global warming.
Poor promotion of sustainable development occurs when burning of papers takes place, instead on recycling takes places. Consequently, the development of future generation is in a poor state. This happens due to the reduction of forest and depletion of fuel sources. Where resources are few, humans alternatively degrade the environments in an attempt to survive. Human being forms the best part in the social environments. Trees in the forest, on the other hand, forms a healthy ecosystem for wild animals, thus depletion of these trees lead to loss on habitats to wild life. This leaves human beings being prone to unnecessary attacks. At the same time, wildlife is a threat to human beings, by the fact that they do not only kill human beings for food, but they also destroy the vegetation, for human consumption.
Through burning of papers, smoke is produced which is a crucial component in the formation of smog. Formation of smog is through the combination of smoke and fog. Smog is harmful as it forms the ozone layer near the surface of the earth. Human health is also at stake as some diseases such as asthma are in many cases aggravated by smog. There are different methods used when recycling takes place. In consideration to recycling of papers, they can be recycled and used in for the same purpose as before (Lawson, Hands-On Science: Conservation of Energy 65). On the other hand, the recycled papers have chances in different work all the same, such as tissue papers. Composting of these papers with other waste is also a method of recycling. In this new state, the humus formed can be used in agricultural practices.
In conclusion, recycling reduces the environmental impact caused by burning of papers. Natural resources such as forest from where the production of paper has a significant part in it- conservation occurs. At the same time, fuel is conserved which also, helps in reduction of global warming. Climate change is, therefore, managed as well as the water cycle process. Achievement of sustainable development is experienced, where future generation, which forms the best part of the social environment, is not at risk. Finally, there will be promotion of prolonged and proper s sustainability.
Works Cited
Duraiappah, Pieter van Beukering Anantha K. Economic and Environmental Impacts of Waste Paper Trade and Recycling in India. IBH Publishing Company: New Delh, 1996. Print.
Lawson, Jennifer E. Hands-On Science: Conservation of Energy. New York: Sterling Publishing, 2001. Print.
Hands-On Science: Conservation of Energy. Canada: Malcolm Publisher, 2001. Print.
William G. Camp, Thomas B. Daugherty. Managing our Natural Resources. New York: University of Columbia, 2000. Print.
General Purpose: Recycling is an issue which the world realized the importance of decades of. However, so much still needs to be done. And this speech would outline some of the pressing needs of the world and their relation to recycling.
Specific: this speech would entail some of the measures which are most important in ensuring that at least some of the goals outlined by the environmentalists are achieved while at the same time would act as an important reminder to all those who have been slacking off in their duties in ensuring a healthier, cleaner environment.
Attention grabbing sentence
Recycle one can and you can save 3 hrs of television energy. Imagine the scope that the word recycling entails! My speech would act as a wakeup call for all those who wish to remain committed to one of the most important activities facing the entire human race. Bonnie DeSimones book regarding Rewarding Recyclers, and Finding Gold in the Garbage is a must read for all those who would want to understand the different ways we are rewarded via recycling.
Thesis Statement
This speech is not about merely dictating what recycling is. We might be aware of but what this speech is about ensuring that we have a future tomorrow. Ensuring that we have air to breathe, water to drink and that we do not create a planet which becomes the very cause for the end of the human race. Seems bleak? Think about that while I take you further down on the road to a better life. There are basic steps that we must all take such as use recycled materials, compost organic material, support recycling activities. But why? Why must we. What can you and I gain from something which does not really seem to affect us. We get clean water, we can breathe and the roads seem clean and whoever said that trees were getting less? The actual picture is as simple as the fact that there simply isnt any more land area for waste such as in the case of UK whereby 2011 almost all the landfills would be used up, it costs more to use raw materials than recycled materials, and in order to even have a future for the future generations steps need to be taken TODAY.
Main Idea no 1: as the world gets more and more caught up in the pursuit of material pleasures and success, we expose ourselves to increased levels of exposure from pollution-creating activities on a scale never witnessed before as has been outlined in a book titled Why Do We Recycle?: Markets, Values, and Public Policy by Frank Ackerman.
Subordinate Idea one: As wealth has risen all over the world, the risks have risen even more from the detrimental effects of pollution. We buy more and pollute more. Ali Yacooub and Fresner Johannes Half is Enough An Introduction to Cleaner Production acts as a wakeup for people like you and me who wish to act but dont.
Subordinate idea 2: As we engaged in habits such as eating more fast food world over, we risk the environment to more products which arent biodegradable.
Main Idea 2: the relationship between increased population levels and pollution. A relationship which can only result in an environmental ravaged and destroyed beyond repair.
Subordinate idea 1: Increase the number of population controlling measures in developing nations
Subordinate idea 2: ensure greater environmental safe practices in pop-dense areas such as China, India.
Main Idea 3: the world has witnessed revolutions in the production processes but is it environmentally safe. It is sad to know that that is not the case. We have created systems which could deprive us of highly significant environmental resources as has been so aptly stated in Richard Porters the economics of waste.
Subordinate idea 1: introduce such packaging and technological products which could be environmentally safe.
Subordinate idea 2: by making use of recycled materials rather than new raw materials we could save thousands of trees, save millions of liters of previous water.
Conclusion
The paper that we read every week means a loss of 500,000 trees. Those very trees which supply us with the oxygen which I, U and we all need for survival purposes. So, why dont we do our bit in ensuring sustainable environmentally safe growth? In order to truly understand what im saying try reading a report titled The Future of Sustainability: Re-thinking Environment and Development in the Twenty-first Century by W.M. Adams.
Lets recycle, make use of recycled materials, and introduce environmentally safe practices in all work areas and at home. Lets make today the day when we really did the cycle of change.
If the US President is doing it, what is stopping u and me? Save lives ladies and gentlemen!
References
Adams, W.M. (2006). The Future of Sustainability: Re-thinking Environment and Development in the Twenty-first Century. Report of the IUCN Renowned Thinkers Meeting.
Ackerman, Frank. (1997). Why Do We Recycle?: Markets, Values, and Public Policy. Island Press. Web.
Porter, Richard C. (2002). The economics of waste. Resources for the Future. Web.
Bonnie DeSimone. (2006). Rewarding Recyclers, and Finding Gold in the Garbage. New York Times.
Yacooub, Ali; Johannes Fresner (2006). Half is Enough An Introduction to Cleaner Production. Beirut, Lebanon: LCPC Press. Web.
There are a large number of reasons why recycling plastic is extremely important for humanity. Plastic constitutes a large part of solid waste that clogs landfills and pollutes oceans. Without human intervention, plastic goods can take hundreds of years to decompose. Many companies have recently started recycling plastics to produce new products. Consumers also get more and more attracted to goods made from recycled materials, since the overall awareness of eco-lifestyles is increasing. Therefore, a big range of economic opportunities in this field is undeniable.
For example, an Australian company Team Timbuktu recycles plastic bottles to produce sportswear. Companies like Rothys and Allbirds renounce the use of synthetic materials and produce comfortable shoes from recycled plastics, as well as other recycled materials. An independent brand Batoko produces swimwear that is 100% recycled plastic. An Australian plastic recycling company, Replas, produces indoor and outdoor furniture, fencing, and many other types of construction materials from recycled plastic.
Gjenge Makers is another company that uses plastics to make construction materials. This Kenyan enterprise mostly focuses on producing bricks that it claims to be almost five times stronger than concrete. The founder of the company, Nzambi Matee, explains that this is because plastic is polymerase, or thread-like, which makes it less brittle compared to concrete (Agyeman, Obeng-Ahenkora, Assiamah, & Twumasi, 2019). The company produces about 1,500 bricks a day, while Kenya produces 600,000 tons of plastic a year. However, according to Kenyas Ministry of Environment and Forestry, only 9% of that plastic is recycled (Agyeman et al., 2019).
Producing 100% recycled goods may be a difficult goal to achieve. However, such products are definitely in high demand now and are going to be for a long time. With all the useful properties of recycled plastics, it is possible to produce high-quality goods that are sustainable and convenient in use.
Reference
Agyeman, S., Obeng-Ahenkora, N., Assiamah, S., & Twumasi, G. (2019). Exploiting recycled plastic waste as an alternative binder for paving blocks production. Case Studies in Construction Materials, 11, e00246.