Around 230 million tons of trash goes to landfill in the US every day. The problem is, not all of that “trash” is something that you cannot use again. We live in quite a wasteful society, one where instead of fixing something, recycling, reusing or repurposing it, we throw it away and buy something else. Or, we hire furniture removal and junk removal experts to take it off our hands.
When the problem is out of sight and out of mind, many people are less likely to change their behavior. You can put your trash into a rubbish bin, then someone comes to collect it, and it’s no longer your problem. In the long run, it will be your problem.
Recycling, repurposing, and reusing is a lost art, but one we can bring back to the fore once people know all its benefits. Before you throw away that child’s toy with the broken wheel or the stool with the wobbly leg, think about the journey those items took to get to you, and how quick off the mark you are to throw them away. If you knew the benefits of recycling, repurposing, and reusing, you might change your mind about their future.
You Save Money
The most apparent benefit to reusing and recycling is the monetary savings. Think back to the wobbly stool before. Sure, a new seat would be nice, but your old one is not beyond saving. You can fix that wobbly leg with glue or nails and have it as good as new again. If you are still intent on buying a new one, you can fix it, then ask a furniture removal company to take it away for someone else’s benefit.
The same goes for almost anything that might be broken, worn, or tired. Junk removal specialists can take them away to the landfill, but you can also put in a bit of effort and fix it until it’s fit for purpose again. Once again, if you still want something new, you can look at your selling options so that someone else can enjoy it.
You Save the Planet
No pressure, but every time you consider recycling or reusing something instead of calling for junk removal, you are doing your part for the environment. For example, let’s say you buy a set of plastic cutlery for the purpose of using it once. However, instead of throwing it away, you clean them and reuse them next time.
You then do this a few times before you can no longer use them again. It might not seem like a significant action, but you’ve stopped three or four more plastic cutlery sets from entering landfill merely by reusing the one you had. Imagine if the entire American population did that?
You Save Raw Materials
Every time you throw away something you could have reused, you are ensuring there is a demand for raw materials. Depending on the sustainability of those materials, this may or may not cause a problem. Take oil, for example.
When you buy plastic water bottles, you are using something that required crude oil in the manufacturing process. Instead of reusing that drink bottle, you grab another one, ensuring that more and more crude oil has to be used to cater to people like you who use a plastic drink bottle once before throwing it away.
You Save Energy
Think about the energy required just to hire a furniture removal or junk removal business. They have to load up with fuel, drive a truck to your house, then take away a lot of things that could be suitable for recycling or reusing.
If you repurpose, reuse, and recycle, you can save energy. Fuel, resources, and materials all go into manufacturing every good. You then use more of those to get the product from the supplier to the consumer. The more people reuse, the less energy is required because people are buying fewer new products!
Conclusion
Transitioning a wasteful society to one that reuses and recycles is no easy task. The problem is, most people don’t think their efforts will count because there are so many others who aren’t putting in the hard work. There are over seven and a half billion people in the world. Even if a few million people vow to take up recycling, pay a company for junk removal and reusing, they are making a dramatic impact on the planet.
Author’s Bio
My name is Alison Hefer, I am originally from Cape Town, South Africa but I have spent the last few years in beautiful New Zealand. I write articles for various websites including Junk Run and regularly contribute articles about the always changing world of SEO to Clickthrough. I am a busy blogger/mom by day and avid writer by night. My career goal is to one day write a novel of my own. Connect with me via email at ali@clickthrough.co.nz.