An Insight into Recycling

Littering had always been a habitual menace in our daily lives. Even those who made it a routine to properly pick up after themselves tend to miss some crucial steps in proper waste management and disposal. Despite our enlightenment on the “three Rs” (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) during our education phase (also… not to be confused with the other three Rs — Reading, Writing, and ‘Rithmetic), we’re usually diligent with the first two Rs, but not so much with the third one. This is because while reducing and reusing are straightforward, recycling is often complicated. So, let’s try to break it down.

Reducing and recycling are often parallel in definition since both encourage an alternate usage of waste materials that are usually thrown away after having fulfilled their sole purpose. The difference between the two terms lies in the material itself. If, for example, a plastic water bottle is emptied and used as a container for a plant or flower, it’s been reused. But if that same bottle is either broken down or converted alongside other plastic bottles to forge a new one, then it is recycled. In either case, the bottle is being used for a new purpose instead of being disposed of and left to pollute the environment.

Recycling had also been a key player in the circulation of papers, which in turn saved a lot of trees that would otherwise end up mulched to make more of them. If you…