Mankind is now at a place where we see the danger of our excessive lifestyle- a century of wasteful and harmful use of resources is damaging our planet and threatening our existence. The retaliation effect of climatic change is the extreme end of mankind's destructive output into the environment. The continuing production of unnecessary containers and packaging cannot be justified at any cost if a suitable environmental friendly waste disposal methodology is not practised, instead of the short-term and ultimately harmful methods used today.

However, it is not all bad news. Traditions of recycling have continued throughout human societies. As a concept, recycling has lived and died many times throughout its 4,000-year old history. However, it always re-emerges as an idea when humans need it most, such as during the Great Depression, and later during World War II, when American companies recycled or reused around 25 percent of the waste stream. Some are still in practice heavily, like composting, which converts food and plant waste in to natural, organic fertilizers to revive soil, and some new technologies have been developed to cope with newer materials, such as glass and plastics.

Ultimately, individuals in society must see the benefits and the sheer necessity of being less wasteful and to use the creativity and technological limits to develop sustainability. There is a limit to everything. Natural resources are not an exception. Hence, the most efficient way of saving natural resources is recycling. Recycling is the reprocessing of old materials into new products, with the aims of preventing the waste of potentially useful materials, reducing the consumption of fresh raw materials and reducing energy usage. It may also lower the greenhouse gas emissions compared to virgin production.

ecycling is a key concept of modern waste management and is the third component of the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" waste hierarchy, though colloquial usage of "recycling" can also include "reuse" and thereby "Recyclable materials" or "recyclables" may originate from home, business or industry.

There are some influential arguments for recycling, and for using recycled goods. Energy savings is just one of them. By reusing existing materials, you are essentially removing the process involved in sourcing the "virgin materials" in the first place. Not surprisingly, recycling also influences pollution levels. According to the Bureau of International organization reports, Recycling-producing paper from recycled paper as opposed to wood can slash air pollution by as much as 74 percent and water pollution by 35 percent; while manufacturing recycled steel results in 86 percent less air pollution.

There are different types of pollution savings to be made, reducing the pollution generated by manufacturing the stuff in the first place. Then there is the pollution that results in dumping the waste in landfills, instead of recycling it. A recent report from the European Environment Agency (EEA), for example, has predicted that greenhouse gas emissions from household waste will drop by more than 80 percent by 2020 largely because of increases in recycling levels, which are diverting waste away from landfills.

One of the main objections to the recycling movement has been the cost factor. To judge the environmental benefits of recycling, the cost of this entire process must be compared to the cost of virgin extraction. In order for recycling to be economically viable, there must be a steady supply of recyclates and constant demand for the reprocessed goods, both of which can be stimulated through government legislation.

Throwing something away is obviously going to be a lot cheaper than going through the hassle of recycling it. And certain materials are going to be a lot tougher to recycle than others, driving up costs and energy spent. But, as a 2004 study by research group of Genuine Progress Index-Atlantic found out, there are many different ways to measure cost. The annual cost to the province of doing this was more than it would have cost to chuck trash away. But, when different factors such as, the amount of energy saved by using recycled materials versus virgin materials, the impact on local tourism levels, the impact on property market, and the impact of jobs being created by the recycling process were considered, the number looked very different.

Arguably, recycling has seen the most economic success in the poorer parts of the world. Although the economic impact may be welcomed by those in poorer countries sifting through everyone's trash, the health impact still leaves a lot to be desired. According to the Earth Institute, around 70 percent of the world's electronic waste ends up in southern China. A recent study by Hong Kong's Baptist University found that the basic methods employed to recycle these items was having an unsettling effect on people living nearby, specifically women. Women in their mid-20s in one recycling site in Zheijiang Province were found to be carrying the highest levels of cancer-causing toxic chemicals like dioxins and furans than they had seen anywhere else in the world.

However, everyone should be concerned by the environmental damages we are imposing on earth's natural resources and take part in the joint effort to make this a better and greener world. Participating in discussion forums involved in finding solutions to earth destruction is everyone's responsibility. Furthermore, by making sure that environment and earth's protection is on every government's agenda is our common responsibility.

Reduce the number of paper and plastic bags you use and try carrying things with reusable textile bags, do not buy so many paper towels, plates and napkins and choose their reusable equivalents. Change your old batteries with rechargeable ones, and recycle the old ones. Saving energy in your house keeps the bills small and reducing pollution is a responsibility of each and every citizen in the country.

(Sources: Friends of the Earth; The Independent; California Environmental Protection Agency; National Recycling Coalition; New Scientist; BIR; The Economist; Bureau of International Recycling; UNEP, www.cnn.com, www.bestglobalwarmingarticles, www.stcloudstate.edu/halls/maintenance )