How many of us recycle? Unfortunately, the answer is simple ,not nearly enough. There plenty of excuses  why you don’t recycle. “It doesn’t make a difference,” “It’s too hard to do,” or maybe even “They don’t pay me to do it.” But, are any of these reasons honestly justification not to do it? Recycle has immediate and long-term effects on our planet, all of which are good. How many can say that about not recycling? You don’t have to be a hippie to care about the planet or even to recycle. Here are some reasons why you should care about recycling.

One of the most important benefits of recycling is that it saves a lot of energy. When we recycle, manufactures don’t have to go through the long process of producing something completely new from our depleting natural resources. In using recycled materials, we directly affect the energy consumption of production companies. In the end, this helps keep production costs down, and when production costs and down, guess who ends up saving money? That’s right, we do. While it not incredibly major or abrupt, over time, the savings do add up.

The most notable benefit of recycling is the reduction in the size of landfills, and the need for them all together. This, in turn, helps us preserve our wildlife and natural beautiful; paper recycling alone saves millions of trees. The less resources companies need, the less tree-chopping and ground-digging they’re doing. Our ecosystem is a very fragile thing. Over the years, we have made catastrophic alterations to this system and led to the extinction—or near extinction—of hundreds of animals.

Recycling is also good for the climate. Goods made from recycled materials require less water, use less energy, and also create considerably less population. This directly affects the amount of carbon being produced, which then reduces the amount of unhealthy greenhouse gases being entered into the atmosphere. These are all immediate and long-term benefits of recycling, which not only apply to you, but your family, and their family’s family down the line.
Yes, recycling may be a bit more difficult than just tossing everything in one little bag, but when has doing the right thing ever been easy? People need to wake up and take recycling, and its benefits, more seriously; if not for themselves, then for the future (i.e their children).