Surprising Benefits of Recycling

Junk.com Recycles Materials When Possible

Same-day junk removal company Junk.com aims to recycle materials from salvaged junk whenever possible. With junk removal, the convenient choice and the greener choice can be one in the same.

You might want that bulky refrigerator, idle exercise machine, or mismatched couch out of your space, but if you’re a person who also cares about the environment then you’ll be concerned about what happens to the junk. Never fear, Junk.com prioritizes sustainable disposal methods like donation and recycling before responsibly taking out the trash with the rest of the garbage.

Why should you choose a junk removal company that recycles? Beyond the benefits of recycling that you likely already know about, there are some surprising benefits of recycling that might not even be on your radar.

Surprising Benefits of Recycling

Recycling, of course, reduces landfill waste and conserves natural resources. That alone should convince you to recycle more. In case it doesn’t, here are five more surprising benefits of choosing to recycle.

• Recycling Creates More Jobs: Recycling actually takes more labor to sort and process than general waste disposal. According to the National Institutes of Health, recycling creates up to six times more jobs than disposing of waste by incineration or in the landfill. 

• Recycling Saves Energy: Manufacturing new materials often takes far more energy than recycling previously circulated materials. Recycling just one ton of plastic saves 5,774 kilowatts. Recycling steel saves enough energy to power 18 million households for a year. 

• Recycling Protects Public Health: Incinerators release harmful toxins into the environment like particulate matter and heavy metals, all of which are linked to detrimental health conditions in humans from neurological disorders to cancers. Landfills contribute to ground water pollution and harmful gas emissions. Recycling materials helps prevent exposure to these harmful substances, not just for animals but for human populations as well.

• Recycling Boosts Property Values: Landfills that accept more than 500 tons of waste per day can decrease adjacent residential property values by about 13.7%. Every mile away from the waste site can contribute to a 1.5% to 2.9% property value increase. Less landfill waste means fewer sites for landfills, and more happy prosperous communities.

• Recycling Encourages Innovation: Many of today’s products are manufactured with recycled content because of consumers demanding more environmentally-friendly practices from manufacturing companies. New uses for recycled and upcycled material are being discovered every day. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, recovered glass is now used in asphalt to pave roads and recovered plastic can be used to create park benches.

Surprising Big Junk that Can Be Recycled

Think your bulky junk item just needs to go out with the garbage at the curb? Think again. These common unwanted junk items can be broken down into materials that are recyclable. 

• Mattresses: Depending on the mattress, metal springs can be recycled as scrap steel and foam can be turned into carpet padding or insulation. 

• Exercise Equipment: Your treadmill, elliptical machine, or stationary bike may have scrap metal or electronic waste that can be recycled.

• Appliances: Steel and aluminum frames are great scrap metals. Some appliances can contain copper wiring which can be reclaimed and reused.

• Carpet: While heavily soiled carpet might not be a candidate, if you have old carpet in good condition then the nylon, polyester, or polypropylene might be recyclable into new carpet.

• Hot Tubs: Metal frames, PVC piping, and elements of the hot tub’s motor or pump can be recycled. 

Call Junk.com for Sustainable Disposal

Junk.com makes junk removal convenient and eco-friendly at the same time. Get rid of the junk the environmentally friendly way and ask Junk.com to recycle, donate, or responsibly dispose of your bulk junk.

Call (844) 771-6830 or use our online booking tool to get our team out to appraise your junk. You could have that bulk waste off your property as soon as today.