Persuasive Speech on Recycling: Harnessing Resource Efficiency for a Future

The Essence of Recycling

“In a broad sense, recycling is part of an ethic of resource efficiency – of using products to their fullest potential. When recycled material, rather than raw material, is used to make a new product, natural resources and energy are conserved. This is because recycled materials have already been refined and processed once; manufacturing the second time is much cleaner and less energy-intensive than the first. For example, manufacturing with recycled aluminum cans uses 95 percent less energy than creating the same amount of aluminum with bauxite.

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Economic Impacts of Recycling

“Investments in recycling collection support a strong and diverse recycling manufacturing industry, which brings jobs and high wages to states and localities. The collection of recyclable materials is the first - the most critical link in a chain of economic activity. Investment in local collection infrastructure pays great dividends in supporting significant downstream recycling economic activity. Importantly, many of these recycling manufacturers rely on a steady and consistent supply of recyclable materials generated from recycling programs.” 

California's Recycling Success

“California’s investments in recycling collection infrastructure have brought substantial returns in the form of reciprocal investments and job creation by recycling manufacturers. The National Recycling Coalition reports that the recycling industry in California is both diverse and significant. The state hosts 4,342 recycling and reuse establishments that employ over 84,000 people, generate an annual payroll of $2.25 billion, and gross $14.2 billion in annual revenues. In California, for every job in recycling collection, there are eight jobs created through manufacturing the recovered material into a new product.” 

The Broader Benefits of Recycling

Stanford recycled and reduced 62% of its waste and reduced landfill by 35%. The results are cleaner air and water, less pollution, more forested land, and open space, and reduced greenhouse gases. Everyone knows recycling means less trash going to our landfills, but the greatest environmental benefit of recycling is the conservation of energy and natural resources and the prevention of pollution that is generated when raw material is used to make a new product.

What can the average citizen do to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Besides reducing emissions from fossil fuels through energy and transportation efficiency, we also can help decrease climate impacts through source reduction, reuse, and recycling. This saves energy which goes directly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We should all do our share to protect the earth and its atmosphere.

References:

1. Stanford University. "Recycling at Stanford: Conserving Natural Resources and Energy."
2. Stanford University. "Recycling at Stanford: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Recycling."

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