In addition, some recycling plants use treated wastewater for the manufacturing process. Recycling reduces the need for landfills. Recycling reduces the need for incinerators. And they are often located in urban neighborhoods where they seriously threaten the health of the community. Keeping paper, glass, plastic and metal out of incinerators by recycling them cuts both how much incinerators pollute and how harmful the emissions are.
Recycling creates jobs and promotes economic development.
A recycled newsprint mill in the Bronx, started by NRDC and a local community group, will create 600 permanent jobs and clean up an industrial site abandoned for a quarter of a century. Cities may profit by selling recyclables. While landfills are always dumping grounds for municipal money as well as garbage, cities with high recycling rates can actually make money selling recyclables when markets are good. Buying recycled products contributes to the demand for more recycled products. This will, in turn, save even more resources, reduce more pollution and protect more people's health.