Recycling Stimulating the Local Economy

Consumerism, or the pursuit of the 'good life', has led to an economic crisis with a vicarious overproduction of goods that exceeds consumer demand. To encourage an increase in consumer spending many single-use and disposable items have been developed. Along with the packaging to ensure safe delivery and advertising of a product, with the excess inventory, consumerism has generated an over-excessive amount of waste. Recycling was created to control, manage, reduce, and reuse our excessive amounts of discarded waste.

Recycling, a new service industry, has likewise created many new employment opportunities benefitting the economy. There are drivers to collect and transport the waste to recycling facilities, which in turn also require machinery operators and sorters. Others are employed manufacturing the equipment, trucks, and construction and maintenance of structures required to properly process our reusable waste. Let us not forget also the many working remanufacturing products from those recyclables.

A never-ending supply of recyclables will keep many employed in many sectors of industry and commerce. Many of these jobs are local and stimulate the local economy, however, most of the recyclables are shipped miles away to support some other local economy. Striving for zero waste can create even more jobs. Instead of spending money on shipping and generating pollution with transportation additional local re-manufacturing facilities can be developed to create additional local employment.

As I hinted in WebStamp’s article, Has Recycling Gone Array, where glass could be remanufactured locally into new glass products. Such local facilities would employ additional workers and generate additional revenue boosting the local economy. There are many new Alberta breweries willing to help the local economy with the purchase of local products. The same could be done recycling aluminum into new cans.

Instead of shipping plastic to be remanufactured to Eastern Canada, several Western Canada plastic remanufacturing plants should be built. This would help reduce local unemployment, recycling expenses and pollution. For eco-sustainability, these new facilities should be constructed eco-friendly and use renewable energy. Styrofoam is one recyclable that is widely used but rarely recycled. Here is a niche opportunity for evolving eco-sustainable Styrofoam remanufacturing.

To have eco-sustainable recycling we have to recycle as many items as we can. We can help prosper the local economy and save the environment by developing new innovative opportunities to reuse, repurpose, and remanufacture most of our recyclable items. Programs should be initiated by the Alberta and Federal Governments to encourage and support the development of remanufacturing plants to help diversify our capabilities, reduce unemployment, and prop up the economy.

Recycling needs to evolve to the next step and needs to be sustainable. Keep recycling as much as you can and encourage others to do the same. Join The Movement and strive to discover new ways to become a zero-waste society and preserve the planet for yourself, your family and friends, and neighbours for generations to come. It is up to you, and everyone else to eliminate waste and improve the way we live.