There are some things that it is expected that you do during your daily life and some of those things change over the years. It is becoming increasingly common that when you walk into any home or office that you will see a recycling bin in use somewhere. We are all taught the three R's of environmental friendliness when we're in elementary school and most try to adopt those practices somewhere in their own lives. But why should we really recycle? Here are some of the long term impacts that it has on our planet.

The first reason is just to reuse resources that might someday become extinct in our world. While we might now have enough trees to write all of the reports that we want and print off papers for school, we might find that this resource is more limited in one hundred years. By recycling things like paper we are reducing the amount of new resources that we need to use. Currently about fifty percent of all paper products and forty-five percent of aluminum cans are being recycled into other things.

Next is to reduce the amount of waste that is going into landfills. All over the world it is becoming more necessary to tear down old buildings or go further into a forest to make room for all of the garbage that we are creating without reusing it. While we are also expanding in population quite rapidly it is inevitable that we will one day need as much space as possible to build things like housing and commercial properties. Recycling materials means that they are not being added to landfills and taking up more space. You should think about that when you're considering the extra hassle of separating garbage from recyclables.

There are some things that are included in city recycling plans that you can throw in a blue bin whenever you're done with them. But these are not the only things that can be recycled and reused rather than being thrown out. If you're done with an appliance in your home and getting a new one than you should set up to have your existing stove or refrigerator picked up and recycled. There are also many individuals who are finding interesting ways to reuse all sorts of things when they are building new properties. There is even a home made out of a recycled plane. You can also speak with a real estate agent who understands that clients have questions about purchasing homes that are made from sustainable materials or at least operate off the grid.

Sometimes you will hear talk that recycling uses more energy than it saves to just use new resources. But even if this is true you should remember that it is more about reducing our dependence on some natural resources than it is simply an energy concern.

Sustainable Building Materials
Recycling Dos and Dont's
Living Off The Grid