michiganrecycles.org - Why Recycle?

Why Recycle?

In nature, nothing goes to waste. Trees grow by pulling nutrients out of the soil when their roots burrow into damp earth allowing water to be carried to thirsty plant cells. The nutrients in the water come from material that has decayed and been put back into the soil by rain, sun and small animals that process the material. A tree throws nothing away. Its leaves degrade to become part of a nourishing cycle of life.

We, on the other hand, generate waste all the time. We have curbside service to pick up our waste and take it away but, generally, away does not mean changing back into something useful. It means going to a landfill or incinerator. Both of these ending places require resources to maintain them. They occupy land and use energy to maintain themselves and move material from your curb.

By recycling, we operate in a more natural way. By recycling, what we waste is cycled back into useful products. Recycling is not perfect. Recycling requires resources and energy and facilities do take up space, but recycling reduces the amount of material being dumped in landfills or burned in incinerators. Other benefits of recycling include:

Creating more jobs than disposal does
Using less energy than mining, harvesting, importing and otherwise processing raw materials and creating less greenhouse gas than landfilling does. See Emmet County's 2011, 5 minute video that focuses on how recycling saves energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Recycled products are all around us:

Why Recycle Cans

Steel cans often contain recycled steel. Aluminum also contains recycled aluminum (it takes 5% of the energy to recycle aluminum as it does to make it from raw materials)
Why Recycle Plastic Bottles

Glass containers often are made from recycled glass, saving energy.

Why Recycle Paper

Many paper products, from tissue to office paper and newspapers, contain recycled content.

And the list goes on. Many products you use daily are not labeled recycled but often are: tissue, boxboard, metal products, glass containers and more.

Recycling is not the only answer to waste and it never has been. For decades, you have heard that you should Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Reduce so you don’t create waste in the first place.
Reuse so you don’t use energy to haul and process.
Recycle whatever you can to reduce energy use, create jobs, reduce habitat destruction and reduce green house gas emissions.

Identifying Recycled Content Products

Michigan Recycling Measurement Study