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The preservation of the environment is dependent upon recycling, as it creates a chain of events that benefit the environment and those who inhabit it. As most people know, recycling preserves our forests, saving 17 trees per every ton of paper recycled. However, the benefits of recycling go far beyond saving trees. When virgin rainforest is logged or mined, entire ecosystems are devastated, creating a loss of biodiversity, and human communities are destroyed as well. The majority of logging and mining occurs in 3rd world countries, where a large number of local indigenous peoples reside in the rainforest and live off the land. Since many of these countries have virtually no government-instituted environmental protection laws, corporations are able to exploit foreign natural resources at an extremely low price, while costing the local people their homes, communities, and opportunity for self-sustenance. Apart from destroying the environment, mining is the most dangerous occupation in the world, killing on average 40 workers per day. Most often it is the indigenous population that is sought out to work in mines, including children.
In addition to the devastation of ecosystems and communities caused by deforestation and mining, there are many other environmental costs of irresponsible land use and waste disposal practices. The processing of virgin minerals contributes almost half of all reported toxic emissions from industries, sending 1.5 million tons of pollution into the air and water each year. Recycling eliminates the need for the processing of virgin materials, and creates a net reduction in ten major categories of air pollutants and eight major categories of water pollutants. It takes 95% less energy to recycle aluminum than it does to make it from virgin material. Recycling plastics requires 70% less energy than creating plastic from raw materials, recycling steel demands 60% less energy, and recycling paper and glass require 40% less energy.
Do your part to help protect and preserve our environment so as to allow our children and our children’s children the opportunity to enjoy it as we have.
Read More: The Recycling Process 
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