The world is at a crossroads. From here, we either take action and save the environment, or we’ll be left without a home.
At this critical juncture, asking what happens if we don’t recycle has become crucial.
The one-word answer to this question is destruction.
If we don’t collectively start to recycle, we’ll run out of our finite resources. Without a backup plan, that is a recipe for disaster.
Consequences of Not Recycling
The world is already witnessing the terrible consequences of environmental damage. Let’s look into some destructive impacts of not recycling.
1. Human and Animal Health
The first and foremost consequence of not recycling our resources is critical damage to human and animal health.
Scientists have confirmed the existence of plastics in the human body and other animals such as fish.
These microplastics come from the waste thrown away into the water bodies without regard to environmental impacts.
Damage to human and animal health will keep increasing.
READ MORE: TYPES OF EVERYDAY PLASTICS THAT ARE HARMFUL TO HUMANS
2. Ocean Pollution
Oceans are the lifeline of human and animal existence.
They have incredible bio-diversity and are a source of essential resources for our survival.
Sadly, another impact of failing to recycle is ocean pollution.
Every year, tons of waste material is dumped into the ocean.
Ocean pollution is destroying aquatic life and creating hazards for coastal states.
Waste materials are increasingly polluting our beaches.
If we don’t reverse our harmful actions and recycle on a mass scale, the oceans will suffer permanently.
3. Destruction of Natural Habitats
When we don’t recycle, the waste material reaches even the farthest points on the planet.
The result is the increasing destruction of natural habitats.
Environmental pollution and global warming are creating challenges for species on a large scale.
Already, thousands of species have perished, and many are in danger of extinction.
If we keep dumping waste on land and the ocean, these natural habitats will be destroyed.
4. Destruction of Arable Land
Recycling creates a barrier to large-scale land pollution by reducing how much we rely on landfills.
When we fail to recycle, the amount of waste overwhelms our lands.
The result is the destruction of arable lands.
The first cover is already reducing due to concrete jungles, so if we keep adding waste to the land, we’ll be left with little land to cultivate.
Landfills eat up a large chunk of land, and if we don’t recycle, we’ll have to use arable land instead of unproductive one.
5. Overspill of Landfills
Using landfills is considered a solution to waste where discarded material is buried under sterile land.
With the population bulge, this solution is under great stress.
When waste gets too much, the landfills overspill, creating health and environmental hazards.
If we don’t recycle, we’ll pretty soon live near landfills as more land will be needed to put away the waste.
6. Fire Hazards and Accidents
There have been many incidents of fire in landfills, and there are reports of landfill explosions due to trapped methane gas.
If we keep throwing all our waste away without recycling or treatment, we may have more and more fire incidents or accidents near landfills.
The intelligent thing to do is reduce the waste that goes to the landfills and recycle as much as possible.
7. Overuse of Natural Resources
Apart from waste handling problems, failing to recycle also puts pressure on our limited natural resources.
Recycling saves tons of new metals, woods, and other materials by reusing them again and again.
If we keep using our natural resources without recycling, we may have too few resources with a large population, and that’s a recipe for conflicts and wars.
Economic Consequences Recycling is cost-effective when done selectively. For example, materials such as steel and aluminum cans are much easier to recycle than manufacturing them from scratch.
Such a selective approach can help municipalities gather valuable trash for recycling.
At the same time, large corporations should take the lead and help generate a culture of recycling.
8. Energy Shortfalls
Recycling is not just cost-effective; it’s also energy efficient. For instance, recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to power a home television set for three hours.
Similarly, producing a new plastic bottle takes much more energy than recycling the old one.
That means we are wasting thousands of watts of electrical power and large quantities of fossil fuels by not recycling.
Consequently, mindless energy consumption is contributing to global warming and climate change.
By recycling, we can help slow down their effects as well as give the planet time to heal itself.
What Happens if We Don't Recycle?
If everyone stopped recycling, garbage waste would get out of hand quickly. Disposal of waste is becoming a huge problem throughout the world, especially in lowing income communities. Waste disposal has become a huge problem in many parts of the world.
And, the United States produces more garbage waste than any other country.
Let’s look at some recyclable items and what happens if we don’t recycle them…
Recyclable Metals
Metal cans are everywhere.
Aluminum containers are used in food packaging and soft drink cans, while aluminum foils are extensively used in food storage.
Other metals such as iron and steel are also used in everyday items.
If we don’t recycle these materials, we lose millions of dollars’ worth of precious metals to waste.
Cola cans end up clogging our drainage systems and harming aquatic life.
Paper Recycling
Paper is made from trees, and much water is needed to transform trees into paper. If we fail to recycle paper, we’ll end up short on trees and clean water.
Trees are valuable for our environment and are a shield against global warming. Losing trees on a mass scale also results in soil erosion and landslides.
Construction Debris
Concrete jungles are a significant contributor to global warming. The next worst thing would be to dump concrete and construction debris in landfills without recycling.
Construction debris can be recycled almost 100% because each material has different uses. If we fail to recycle it, we lose millions of dollars of valuable resources and precious land.
Plastic Recycling
Plastic recycling is vital to saving our environment and the natural habitat of many living things. Every day, there are stories where fish and whales die of plastic consumption or are trapped in plastic materials.
Drainage systems are also clogged with plastic bottles and packaging. If we don’t recycle plastics, we destroy our environment.
Wood Recycling Trees are a lifeline to human life and millions of species that depend on them. Forests such as the Amazon are a source of incredible biodiversity.
If we don’t reuse wood, we will have too few trees.
Already, the forest cover is under stress due to urbanization. We can reduce that stress by reducing our wood use through recycling.
What Are the Benefits of Recycling?
Now that we know what happens when we fail to recycle, let’s briefly look at the significant benefits of recycling.
Environment protection through reducing waste and recycling instead of throwing garbage away
Reduced air, water, and land pollution by a reduction in the use of fossil fuels, water usage, and less use of landfills
Resource savings by reducing, reusing, and recycling valuable materials
Energy savings by shortening the manufacturing processes through recycling
Mitigating the effects of global warming and climate change
Cleaner oceans and other natural habitats where humans and animals both thrive
It’s Now or Never Now that you know the impacts of not recycling, it’s everyone’s responsibility to take practical steps to try and address these issues.
No one else is coming to help us; if we don’t take action ourselves, we won’t see a bright future.
We have to save our planet through the collective effort for sustainable existence.