The question of “why is recycling so important?” should be answered by discussing the earth’s limited resources.  The earth only produces so much steel.  It has a depleting amount of forestland to convert to paper.  While many countries including the United States are leaders in the area of technology, recycling has lagged behind in results.    Community programs have increased and awareness of the need to recycle is  heavily promoted.

This is not to stay that some strides have not been made.  The most common recyclables items, such as paper, glass, plastic and aluminum, are being sent to the recycling center in record numbers.  For example, the United States reached a milestone in 2006 when it was revealed that 53.4% of the paper being used had been collected and sent to recycling centers.  Another world leader in recycling is Austria.  This country recycled 60% of its waste; this saves their landfills tons of unnecessary items.

There is definite room for improvement in terms of how much can be recycled.  Overall, the United States recycles only 28% of its total waste.  Greece only recycles 10% of its aggregate.  The UK, Ireland, Italy and Portugal recycle approximately 18% or less of their waste.

The problem is that while many will recycle the traditional items such as aluminum, glass, paper and plastic, there are still many more items that are being thrown away.  These are items that are also recyclable.  For example, used motor oil can be recycled.  Yet it is not usually done because the recycler has to find somewhere that will accept it.  Some will not bother with it.  Yet a quarter of motor oil that is not disposed of properly has the potential to contaminate 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.  Recycling is vital for the survival of our planet.