Assignment

Impact of recycling on the health of people

Submitted to Dr. Imran Taj

Submitted by Ziland Khan
Subject: BT-804
Enviromental Biotechnology

CASVAB BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Impact of recycling on the health of people
Recycling
The recycling process converts and transforms waste and discarded materials into something
new objects an materials of further use.
Hence, it becomes a good alternative to any waste of “conventional” nature of disposal and
it has a capacity to save from using other material and this process can help reduce emissions
of greenhouse gases, as related to plastic production, for instance. The procedure of
Recycling can avoid the waste going to the landfill and which has the potential as a useful
product or materials and that reduces the fresh raw material consumption, thereby reduces
further usage of energy, air pollution due to incineration, air and water pollution by avoiding
going to landfill.
many of us know that recycling is important because it reduces the number of materials sent
to landfills and saves energy. It helps protect the environment and conserves resources.
Perhaps most importantly, it has a direct impact both on the planet’s health, and our own.
The more we know about it and understand its impact, the more likely we are to do it.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

When we talk about recycling, we’re often lumping together the concepts of reduce, reuse,
and recycle. All of these help cut down the amount of waste you generate1 and lower your
carbon footprint. Your carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the
atmosphere as a result of your activities.
Reducing
Cutting down on the amount of waste products you use, such as buying groceries that don’t
come in a plastic package.

Reusing
Using materials more than once, such as washable food wraps and glass containers to store
food, rather than disposables.

RecyclingMaking something new out of waste materials, such as footwear made from old
rubber tires.

Recycling can create a vast impact on the safety of the environment.

Consider the following:
Recycling can reduce the waste reaching the landfill, while 27 tonnes MSW- municipal solid
waste was generated in 2013 alone By recycling plastic materials, indicates less use of new
plastic, made out of hydrocarbons and fossil fuels. It means, by recycling plastic, one ton of
raw material is saved, which is 16.8 oil barrels.
Similarly, recycling wood and paper can save forests andtrees. Recycled office paper of 1 ton
weight can save 7650 gallons of water, 18 trees, and oil 472 gallons. The virgin rainforest
can’t be replaced, hence, it is better to avoid destroying them Recycling helps conserve
natural resources, whereas, the office paper, recycled can save 27,300 liters of water, 18 trees,
2,450 liters of oil, 2.28 m3 of landfill
 Recycling helps reduce energy consumption, sufficient MSW got recycled and
provided an electric supply to nearly 29 million homes, in 2014;
 Recycling helps save habitats and forests, almost 26,500,000 trees can be saved every
year, in case 10% of the existing newspapers are recycled in the USA;
 Recycling helps reduce air pollution;
 Recycling of paper can reduce air pollution by almost 78%.
 Recycling helps reduce global warming, By recycling 178 metric tons of Green House
Gases were reduced by recycling MSW
 In industrial society, waste generation and dumping have become an intrinsic role.
The domestic and commercial waste sources have increased considerably all around
the world in the last ten years. The householders, commercial establishments,
industries, and various small and big stores constantly contribute to the tremendous
amount of waste. The waste products can be measured as millions of tons, while the
population living in urban and city limits has increased 400% in the past 20 years.
This enormous population growth has contributed tremendous liquid and solid waste,
and it is a matter of national as well as a global concern. The waste volume is not a
big problem, but the inability of individuals, society, governments, together with the
disposal of waste management companies have failed to manage the task of waste
reduction and environmental safety. The dirty environment affects the aesthetic
sensibilities, living standards, health of human beings, implicating the quality of lives.
Improper waste storage and disposal can create hazards to society through air
pollution, water, and land.
 How Does Trash Impact Your Health?
Each person in the United States produces more than 1,780 pounds of trash on average
each year, which is more than the average individual from any other country.
The waste produced by humans not only takes up space, it also releases chemicals and
greenhouse gasses.
Not only does that take up a space, it also releases harmful chemicals and greenhouse
gasses as it sits in landfills.4 Decomposing garbage produces carbon dioxide, nitrous
oxide, and methane. These all contribute to the air pollution that causes various
respiratory diseases.
 Increases in the risk of low birth weight, birth defects have been reported near
landfills. Certain types of cancers including those of the pancreas, larynx, liver,
kidney, as well as non-Hodgkin lymphoma are also more common near these
sites.5 An increase of symptoms such as fatigue, sleepiness, and headaches among
residents near waste sites has also consistently been reported.
 Sites that are badly managed can also attract germ-spreading vermin. Rats can
carry and spread diseases including hantavirus, a serious, respiratory disease;
salmonella, a bacterial infection of the intestine; and rat-bite fever, a bacterial
illness, among others.
 It’s not just the people living near landfills who are affected. Houseflies are
attracted to waste, whether it’s in a garbage can or a landfill. Flies have long been
linked to at least 65 diseases including typhoid, dysentery, cholera, poliomyelitis,
and tuberculosis.
 Recent research at Penn State’s Department of Entomology found that H. pylori,
a type of bacteria that can survive in your digestive system, can be transmitted by
flies. H. pylori can cause peptic ulcers in humans.6
 Garbage that doesn’t end up in a landfill is usually burned. Several studies suggest
the pollution from incinerators is linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and soft
tissue tumors. Congenital problems including urinary tract defects, preterm births,
and miscarriages are also related to incinerator-generated air pollution.7
 Clearly, garbage has a huge impact on our bodies as well as our planet. Reducing
the amount of trash we create in turn reduces all of the health risks associated with
garbage.

The Impact of Recycling On Health

 Recycling reduces the health risks of disease and birth defects associated with
landfills and incinerators. It also has a positive impact on our personal health and that
of our planet in several other ways.

 Recycled materials save energy because making new products from raw materials
uses a lot more energy than using recycled ones, even when comparing all the
associated costs such as transportation.
  It therefore also reduces the need for extracting, refining, and processing those raw
materials, which themselves create a lot of air and water pollution. This energy
efficiency reduces greenhouse gas emissions, minimizes climate change, and
conserves natural resources — all of which protect the health of our planet and our
personal health as well.
 In fact, recycled steel saves 60% on production energy. Recycled plastics save 70%.
And it takes 95% less energy to recycle aluminium than it takes to make it from raw
materials. Using scrap steel instead of virgin ore to make new steel uses 40% less
water and creates 97% less mining waste.
 Making new products from raw materials uses a lot more energy than using recycled
ones.
 To put your efforts into perspective, in the US, recycling just plastics could save
between 30 and 170 million tons of carbon each year, which is the equivalent of
taking between six and 30 million vehicles off US roads. When you recycle just 10
plastic bottles, you save enough energy to power a laptop for over 25 hours because of
the energy saved from not having to create new bottles.
 Scientific studies have found that localized air pollution and the release of toxins
during plastic shredding and melting pose risks to human health. These include
exposure to fine particles, dioxins, volatile organic compounds, and other harmful
chemical additives in plastics, and have been linked to asthma, respiratory illnesses,
cancer, and reproductive system harms.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES FOR REDUCTION OF ADVERSE IMPACT

ON ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN
Proper solid waste management have to be undertaken to ensure that it does not affect the
environment and not cause health hazards to the people living there. At the household-level
proper segregation of waste has to be done and it should be ensured that all organic matter is
kept aside for composting, which is undoubtedly the best method for the correct disposal of
this segment of the waste. In fact, the organic part of the waste that is generated decomposes
more easily, attracts insects and causes disease. Organic waste can be composted and then
used as a fertilizer. These steps may be taken for prevention of impact
 Generation of waste should be decreased
 promoting the production of goods which minimize waste generation after use
 Material recycling and recovery should be increased
 promoting the use of plastic recycling
 identification codes and labels in order to make sorting and recycling of plastic
packaging easier.
 Municipalities increasing their level of service to the public regarding sorting of
waste.
 Education of producers, the public and people who work in the waste sector should
be increased
 Promoting the use of less hazardous alternatives to hazardous chemicals during
production of goods.
 Legislation in the waste sector should be improved
 collection of hazardous waste at collection points shall be safe, secure and performed
in an environmentally sound manner