Remanufacturing the computer prevents waste by reusing it, while recycling manages the wastes created when the computer is discarded.

Here’s how failing to recycle harms the planet:

• Landfills Fill Up Faster. When recyclable items are tossed into the garbage instead of the recycling, they eventually end up in landfills.
• Greenhouse Gases Are Released.
• Toxins Can Leach Into Soil and Groundwater.
• New Resources Are Required.

Disadvantages of Recycling

• High upfront capital costs.
• Recycling sites are always unhygienic, unsafe and unsightly.
• Products from recycled waste may not be durable.
• Recycling might not be inexpensive.
• Recycling is not widespread on large scale.
• More energy consumption and pollution.
• Result in pollutants.
• Increased processing cost and low-quality jobs.

Check out these 5 reasons why we should all be recycling, every chance we get.

• Recycling keeps trash out of the landfill.
• Recycling reduces our need for new raw materials.
• Recycling conserves energy.
• Recycling creates jobs.
• Recycling reduces pollution.

Waste can cause loss of natural habitats and contributes to negative impacts like climate change and global warming, which can also destroy animals’ natural habitats. Recycling helps cut back on new materials and thus preserve natural habitats, forests, rainforests, and give the Earth a chance to grow and heal.

Tips: Top Ten Ways to Recycle

• Buy recycled paper and print on both sides.
• Make recycling bins readily available.
• Recycle your empty ink and toner cartridges.
• Buy remanufactured ink and toner cartridges.
• Recycle old newspapers laying around the office.
• Look for the recycled option in all the products you buy.
• Buy rechargeable batteries.

Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, cardboard, metal, plastic, tires, textiles, batteries, and electronics. The composting or other reuse of biodegradable waste—such as food or garden waste—is also a form of recycling.

Types of Recycling

• Waste Paper and Cardboard. Recycling paper is vital to ensure you reduce your environmental impact and reduce general waste.
• Plastic Recycling.
• Metal Recycling.
• WEEE Recycling (Electronic Devices)
• Wood Recycling.
• Glass Recycling.
• Clothing and Textile.
• Bricks and Inert Waste Recycling.

The first type of recycling can be classified by type of material that is being recycled. Glass recycling, paper recycling, metal recycling, plastic and textile recycling and finally electronic recycling. Another type of recycling is composting which is the “reuse of biodegradable waste,” like garden mulch, or food.

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As of 2015, approximately 6.3 billion tons of plastic waste had been generated, around 9% of which had been recycled, 12% was incinerated, and 79% was accumulated in landfills or the natural environment. In 2016 only 14% of plastic waste was recycled globally.

While it’s practically impossible to eliminate plastic from modern life, there are a number of steps you can take right now to cut back.

1. Do: Drink tap water.
2. Do: Heat food in or on the stove, or by microwaving in glass.
3. Do: Buy and store food in glass, silicone, or foil.
4. Do: Eat fresh food as much as possible.

Plastic affects human health. Toxic chemicals leach out of plastic and are found in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us. Exposure to them is linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and other ailments.

A new study finds the average person could be swallowing about five grams of plastic every week. That’s equal to a credit card’s worth. These particles can make their way into our drinking water, food and even the air we breathe and it adds up over time.

“There’s evidence that plastic is making its way into our bodies, but very few studies have looked for it there,” he added. Scientists define microplastics as plastic fragments less than 5 mm, about 0.2 inches, in diameter. Nanoplastics are even smaller, with diameters less than 0.001 mm.

Quite simply, humans are addicted to this nearly indestructible material. We are producing over 380 million tons of plastic every year, and some reports indicate that up to 50% of that is for single-use purposes – utilized for just a few moments, but on the planet for at least several hundred years.

Plastic pollution was first noticed in the ocean by scientists carrying out plankton studies in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and oceans and beaches still receive most of the attention of those studying and working to abate plastic pollution.

Plastic is used across almost every sector, including to produce packaging, in building and construction, in textiles, consumer products, transportation, electrical and electronics and industrial machinery.

The 5 Most Common Plastics & Their Everyday Uses

• Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
• High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
• Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
• Polypropylene (PP)

Commonly found Plastics include cigarette butts, food wrappers, beverage bottles, straws, cups and plates, bottle caps, and single-use bags. How to help?

Plastics are used to make bicycle helmets, child safety seats and airbags in automobiles. They’re in the cell phones, televisions, computers and other electronic equipment that makes modern life possible. They’re in the roofs, walls, flooring and insulation that make homes and buildings energy efficient.

Reducing Plastic In Your Daily Life

1. Avoid using straws. Do you really need a straw?
2. Use reusable produce bags.
3. Frequent stores that use paper.
4. Buy in bulk.
5. Stop buying bottled water.
6. Stop chewing gum.
7. Buy cardboard over plastic.

Plastic is durable and provides protection from contaminants and the elements. It reduces food waste by preserving food and increasing its shelf life. It protects food against pests, microbes and humidity. Without this protection, food is more likely to get damaged and become unusable.

Plastics clearly constitute an important component of the range of materials used in modern society. Almost all aspects of daily life involve plastics or rubber in some form or the other. Owing to their light weight, plastics reduce transportation costs and, therefore, atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions.