So Simple and Effective Recycling Should Be Mandatory

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Marlea Troutman J. Lindberg English 1101: F 05 November, 2010 So Simple and Effective, Recycling Should Be Mandatory In our home we have a container placed next to the trash can to dispose of all things recyclable. Every Thursday a separate waste management truck comes around and collects my two large trash cans full of recycling. Then about two hours later that same day, another truck pulls around and collects two very small trash bags of mostly food waste or non-recyclable items. The waste management company I use only charges $7.00 per quarter for pick up. Very inexpensive and so easy; they also supply a container if needed. On average in our home we have reduced our waste consumption by 25%, and we recycle 75% of household products or waste, such as glass, plastic, paper and aluminum. This change in our home has proven to be very cost friendly. We recycle yard waste and turn it into compost for our vegetable garden. Composting saves money on fertilizer, soil and even vegetable purchases at the grocery store. Unfortunately, it has not been this easy to recycle waste everywhere I have lived in the past. Some counties do not even offer recycling or a place to drop it off. It seems ridiculous to me that something so necessary would not be so easily accessible to the public. Putting into place mandatory recycling of waste could help provide jobs, and some materials when properly recycled can even create energy. According to the EPA, 250 million tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) was disposed of in 2008. Of that number, 33.2% was recycled. MSW includes paper, food, cotton, leather, plastic, rubber and other fabrics. U.S. citizens would hopefully be less likely to dispose of the millions of tons of waste that we do each year if we were charged by the pound for disposal like other countries such as Germany. Germany has an allowed amount of waste that can be

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