Recycling and waste reduction are actually very much related to
climate change. The energy used in the industrial processing of
virgin materials and in their transportation, involves burning
fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and coal, all major sources
of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. While manufacturing
goods from recycled materials still requires energy, it is much
less than extracting, processing, and transporting virgin raw
materials. Recycling and waste reduction also avoids emissions due
to landfill off-gassing which produce large amounts of carbon
dioxide and methane (21 times more potent than carbon dioxide).
Waste reduction and recycling also slow the harvesting of forests,
which act as carbon sinks, meaning they absorb carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere.
So how do your individual recycling efforts affect greenhouse
gas emissions? Check out the EPA's
Personal Emissions Calculator to see how many pounds of carbon
dioxide your household emits per year.