Economic and Environmental Benefits of Recycling and the Green Economy

For decades now, we’ve heard about the benefits of recycling. That it is great for the environment and recycling efforts are economically viable. By viable, we assume that there is money to be saved or earned given the effort, while creating employment opportunities. But what are the factual benefits and is this so called “Green Economy” for real? It certainly is, and savvy environmental services and recycling companies are leading the way.

Environmental Benefits of Recycling

Recycling means diverting used materials – often referred to as waste (incorrectly) – from traditional landfill disposal and instead turning them into new items or inputs for new item creation. According to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (2012), the energy saved in recycling materials versus manufacturing them is extraordinary: