6 Reasons to Start Recycling in Thailand

List of benefits from recycling

You may be thinking, “why specifically Thailand?” Well, Thailand is a world famous tourist destination. And as a result, Thailand produces a huge amount of waste to the tune of a daily average of 41 thousand tons. Currently, the recycling rate for the country is just 22 percent, which provides ample reason to increase recycling efforts by local bodies and private entities.

Why Recycle?

Preservation of natural resources: Recycling helps us to preserve valuable limited natural resources, such as timber, minerals, and most importantly, water. For example, recycling the weekend issue of any newspaper would help save thousands of trees. In addition, this would result in a 60% savings in the amount of water needed to manufacture paper. Similarly, a ton of recycled aluminum saves four tons of the mineral bauxite, whereas recycling steel helps to save 40% of the water that would have been used.

• Energy conservation & reduction of pollution: Manufacturing from raw materials consumes more energy and causes a higher level of air and water pollution due to the process of cleaning the raw materials for the processed form. Since, in case of recycled paper or metal, the manufacturing process has already taken place once, lesser amount of cleaning is required. Therefore, this causes lesser pollution. In addition, lesser efforts are required, which results in energy conservation.
• Reduces the emission of greenhouse gases: Dumped waste, which is more often than not unsegregated, contains toxic substances, which emit greenhouse gases harmful to the environment and contribute to global climate changes. By recycling substances, such as plastic, glass, metal, paper etc. the amount of waste, and the emission of harmful gases, is reduced.
• Amount of waste sent to landfills is reduced: By re-using and recycling, we reduce the amount of waste that is disposed of. Hence, the landfills receive lesser dumping of garbage, which pollutes the land and air.
• Cost saving: If recycling practices are adopted and implemented extensively, the nation would save in terms of cost of procuring, processing, and transportation of raw materials. More so, well-run recycling operations are less expensive than the costs involved in waste collection, landfilling, and incineration. Hence, the more Thailand recycles, the less expensive the recycled product costs.
• Creation of new jobs: If you look at the example of the U.S., recycling has created 1.1 million jobs, $236 billion gross annual sales, and $37 billion as far as annual payouts are concerned. Hopefully, this clarifies the scope of employment, which recycling can create. There are plenty of well-paying jobs in the manufacturing industry, and this is what recycling can give to the nation.

In addition to all the above benefits of recycling, it helps to sustain our existing environment so that we can leave behind a safe and livable place for future generations. So, do not throw away, re-use and recycle!