America's Road to Recycling

When was the last time you were asked to take out the trash? Have you ever wondered where the heaping load of trash you roll out to the sidewalk goes every Tuesday morning? The American people produce a total of 195 million tons of garbage each year. If every American were able to consistently recycle even a small percentage of the trash they produce, the world would be a much more clean and efficient place.

In the year 1995 there were just over 3,000 landfills in the United States. This number has dropped significantly from the 1990 measurement of 6,300. This information helps to prove that the nation is slowly but surely becoming more environmentally efficient. Have you ever driven down the interstate and sensed a foul smell in the air? There's a good chance you are smelling the methane gas produced by landfills. Landfills cause serious air and water pollution to the areas surrounding it. To help stop this growth of pollution to our earth, we must find alternative ways of managing our waste such as recycling.

Although recycling is growing in popularity, Americans could do better to create a cleaner environment. The average American only recycles about 11 percent of their total waste, whereas Japanese citizens recycle near 45 percent of their consumer waste. A rising number of communities in today's society offer some sort of recycling service, or have a nearby recycling center. We, as Americans, need to do our part to continue down the road of recycling in order to make the world a cleaner place.

With producers in today's society striving to produce much more "green" goods, almost everything in a trash bag can be reused through recycling. As consumers, it important when shopping to buy recycled goods and goods that are recyclable. Make sure to have a separate recycling bin in your home to separate recyclable goods from garbage. Also, be sure dispose of non-recyclable goods such as oil, batteries, and tires properly. If we each do our part to produce less waste and recycle, the world as a whole will be a much cleaner, and overall enjoyable place to live.

It seems as though recycling is becoming a new, more popular form of getting rid of trash. Recycling now is not just a trend picked up by tree hugging freaks. Rather, it is a way of life for anyone who cares to make a difference in the environment they live in. Although recycling is slowly becoming more popular, we still have a long road ahead of us to be as efficient as we can. If we are all able to reduce, reuse, and recycle the waste we produce, the world will be a much more clean and enjoyable place to live in.

Works Cited

"Clean Air Council | Waste Reduction & Recycling Program." Clean Air Council | Protecting everyone's right to breathe clean air ! Web. 01 Dec. 2009. .

"The Japan Containers and Packaging Recycling Association." Japanese Recycling Statistics. 16 Apr. 2009. Web. 01 Dec. 2009. .

"Recycling - Americans Recycling More, Discarding Less, EPA Says." Environmental Issues

-News and Information about the Environment. Web. 01 Dec. 2009..