By Analia garcia
Recycling is better than just getting the same thing and throwing it away. For example, using a single-use plastic water bottle. Most people just drink the water inside and throw it in the trash. It takes plastic 20-500 years (based on environment) to break down, which is a really long time! Instead, we should use reusable water bottles. These can be reused and washed easily, making it very convenient.
This is also a better substitute than normal water bottles because, according to the national institute of health, a plastic water bottle contains almost 240,000 microplastics in one single bottle.
Some other examples of recycling include recycling water by reusing (old water) and using that to hydrate our plants. Another way we can recycle is reuse old tires and turn it into turf so you can have better places to play your favorite sport. According to Gradell, the U.S covers about 76-79% percent of tire scraps annually. Recycling is much better than just throwing out something that’s only a one time use. There is so much garbage that there is a garbage island, this alone just shows that we need to recycle and use less single-use objects.
A better option would be glass because it’s 100% recyclable. According to San Jose, recycled glass can be reprocessed multiple times. Metal also is a good substitute. For instance, a metal water bottle or glass bottle can potentially be used to make different objects, but aren’t necessarily easy to litter with, and individuals will remember to pick them back up.
Trash island has become famous for one thing: trash. This island had become a thing due to humans littering. We can reduce trash another way by not buying as many things. For instance, not buying useless things that are trending, or just not buying single use stuff can significantly contribute to helping the environment. We can all recycle old things and turn them into something new. We can recycle plastic as well, but using less of it. Still, not buying plastic is way better for the environment.
