Unemployment in America has been the topic of conversation for quite some time. Also on the list of trending topics is the importance of going green. Merge the two and you have the latest conversation, creating jobs by raising the recycling rate!
A large influx of US jobs may come from the recycling industry, “if the nation can increase its recycling rate,” says a recent report “More Jobs, Less Pollution: Growing the Recycling Economy in the US” (wasterecyclingnews.com). The report notes that nearly 1.5 million more recycling jobs than were around in 2008 would be create if the national recycling rate reached 75% by 2030.
Not only will a higher recycling rate mean reduced pollution and improved public health, it now can mean stable employment bases. The report states that “the 75% national recycling rate also would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 276 million metric tons by 2030,” which is equivalent to 72 coal-fired power plants or taking 50 million cars off the road (wasterecyclingnews.com).
Allen Hershkowitz, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council said “even if we got to 50% [recycling rate], we would still reduce 100 million tons of global warming pollution, and that’s substantial… I don’t want people to get hung up on the 75% number because that’s aspirational, it’s not prescriptive. What it’s saying is higher recycling rates produce, in general, 10 to 20 times more jobs than combustion or landfilling with great benefits to the environment,” (wasterecyclingnews.com).
Increasing America’s recycling rate along with decreasing the amount of waste placed in landfills will reduce greenhouse gases and create jobs.
Boro-Wide Recycling Corp. is a leading full-service provider of progressive and innovative recycling and waste management services. Our services assist construction and demolition customers as well as commercial and residential customers in reducing disposal costs, strengthening recycling programs and diverting waste from landfills. For more information, or to schedule a pick-up, visit BOROWIDERECYCLING.com.
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