Should recycling be mandatory? The South Korean government has decided it should be, and they are benefiting from the decision. After recycling was made mandatory for every household, business, and school in 1994, today South Korea maintains a drop in air pollution and contamination from landfills. Citizens must purchase special green and yellow bags, for garbage and compost respectively, from local grocery stores, placing recyclables in plastic bags left over from shopping. Once a week municipal waste management trucks pick up the recyclables free of charge. If citizens fail to recycle, they will be fined. Estimates claim recycling rates have increased 175% during the program’s 10 year tenure.
In the United States, studies by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claim that the country currently recycles about 32.5% of its waste. While an improvement over past figures, there it is still remains advancements to be made.
Around the world, countries are furthering efforts to prevent waste. Here are a few international approaches to recycling:
Switzerland: From bottle banks at local supermarkets to once-a-month paper collection in each town, recycling strongly encouraged. Each bag of waste must bear a sticker costing 1 euro. The more you recycle, the less you spent throwing out your waste. Read more about Switzerland’s green waste, aluminum, and plastic recycling by clicking here (BBC News). Germany: In 1991, the government required through the “Packaging Ordinance” that manufactures, supplies, and retailers take back various types of packaging and materials. Faced with a rising mound of “rubbish” at local supermarkets, companies banned together and established a central body to handle the recycling: the Duales System Deutschland (DSD) — a private enterprise that collects and sorts out glass, paper, cardboard, aluminum, tins, cartons and plastics. Read more about German recycling initiatives and Green Dot program by clicking here (Hindu Business Line). Denmark: There has been more or less an elimination of all ozone-destructive chemicals; Denmark has the highest recycling percentage in the world. Close to 80% of the waste that is not recycled is burned in heat power stations that provide households with heat. 98% of all households discharge their wastewater to cleaning stations, which is the highest percentage in the world. The result has been a noticeable improvement of water conditions in the lakes and oceans (Source:http://www.workindenmark.dk/Waste_recycling). Australia: Recycling levels continue to improve. The world’s largest privately owned packaging and recycling company, VISY, is calling for more state government involvement in banning recyclable waste from landfills. |
Mandatory Recycling in the U.S.?
Mandatory recycling holds many intriguing possibilities for the U.S. In 2001, the EPA released results from a Recycling Economic Information (REI) Study which indicated that “the U.S. recycling and reuse industry supports more than 56,000 recycling and reuse establishments that gross over $236 billion in annual revenues and employ over 1.1 million people, with an annual payroll of nearly $37 billion.” Recycling industries clearly fuel economic growth, especially during times of recession.
Since 1976, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) has been the primary regulatory standard for recycling in the United States. The law establishes three programs: solid waste management, hazardous waste management and underground storage tank management. RCRA bans open dumping of waste and encourages recycling as well as safe disposal of solid waste. Individual states are responsible for implementing household recycling programs and have varying fines for improper waste disposal. There are no states that require all residents to recycle, yet some cities, such as Seattle and Pittsburgh, have firm mandatory recycling programs.
GreenConnected Companies Who Provide Recycling Services:
Green Deleware Recycling - General Recycling Collection
E-Structors Electronics Recycling
Advanced Shred Document Recycling
Laser Line, Inc. Printer Recycling
For more information on Recycling Services near you visit the following links:
Find a Recycling or Re-Use Location at Earth911.org
USDirectory.com’s List of Recycling Centers Near You
Recycling Service Pick-up including Dumpster Services at Homeblue.com
Openlist.com’s Recycling Search
Local.com’s Recycling Search