Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
What happens to the things you throw away? If you dispose of them in the trash, your old stuff will probably end up sitting in a landfill. But if you recycle, the materials you got rid of yesterday could end up back on a store's shelf in the future.Recycling is the practice of reusing materials in existing products to create new ones. This can be accomplished in expected ways—such as using recycled paper as packaging material—or unexpected ways—such as using recycled glass to make artificial turf. Recycling helps to conserve limited resources, and—its proponents argue—it has other environmental benefits as well. For example, reusing existing materials means that fewer new ones have to be produced, which can lower factory emissions, reduce the need for new natural resources, and lower dependence on landfills.
Many different kinds of materials are recyclable. Some materials, including plastic, metal, glass, and paper, are commonly recycled. Disposing of these recyclable materials is relatively easy—they can be deposited for pickup or dropped off at recycling centers. Specialized electronics, such as laptops or cell phones, are also recyclable but require special handling because of the potentially dangerous chemicals contained in their batteries. Recycling has become an increasingly important issue in the United States as both the population and the amount of waste each person generates continue to increase. Municipal solid waste (MSW) includes items that are normally thrown in the trash, such as food packaging or scraps, old furniture, tires, or yard clippings.