In many countries, people do not recycle waste materials, such as bottles and newspapers. What are the reasons for this? What could be done to solve this problem?

Recycling materials, such as glass, plastic and cartons, is an important practice that helps to reduce our impact on the environment. Many people across the world, however, do not recycle their waste and send everything to landfill. This essay will discuss why this might be the case and how this problem can be alleviated. The reasons for the lack of recycling seem to be quite simple. Firstly, in some countries official recycling programmes either do not exist, or they are relatively new. People therefore are generally unaware of the importance of recycling their refuse. Being used to seeing all the rubbish going to the same bin, they simply continue to do the same, without putting too much thought into it. Even those who understand the environmental benefits of recycling may still be unwilling to inconvenience themselves with sorting their waste. After all, in order to recycle something as simple as a plastic bottle or a newspaper, one needs to keep a separate bin at home or find a public recycling dustbin when outside. To encourage people to recycle more, a comprehensive public campaign is required. A good start would be to explain to people what economic and environmental benefits recycling can provide. This can be done via flyers delivered to each home and advertising on television. The next step is to make recycling as easy as possible. On the streets, recycling bins should be located next to each general rubbish bin. Home recycling should also be facilitated by various means, such as arranging frequent collections and providing people with free recycling bin bags. To conclude, it is the lack of awareness about the benefits of recycling and reluctance for people to sort their refuse, that prevents them from engaging with this useful practice. When they fully understand its advantages and can recycle their rubbish at home and outside easily and quickly, I believe that many will choose to do the right thing.