There are good reasons why Pierce College should be involved in recycling. However, there are equally as many, if not more good reasons why our campus should not be involved in recycling.
Despite the fact that recycling might help save our planet, it puts human life in danger. If Pierce decides to be more involved in recycling, the administration then decides to put thousands of students health at risk.
Recycling is unhealthy and unhygienic. The piles of recyclable materials such as water bottles, papers, boxes, and plastics are breeding grounds for disease.
It attracts mosquitoes which are carriers of Dengue and possibly Zika Virus. Yes, the latest dangerous virus that has been devastating in parts of the world.
I remember when I was in fourth grade, my school decided to promote a “Clean and Green” project and encouraged the entire student body to recycle to save Mother Earth. The faculty and staff were ecstatic about the project.
However, the project did not turn out well. Many students missed school because they got sick. Headaches, on and off high fevers, throwing up and nausea were all prevalent. Several students acquired Dengue, a virus spread by mosquitos.
I was one of those students, and was hospitalized for an entire week. Waking up at 5 o’clock every morning to have blood and platelets checked, tasteless hospital foods and 19 IVs were all part of the experience.
Mosquitoes that carry Dengue are the same mosquitoes that transmit the dangerous and deadly Zika Virus.
“Zika virus is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. This is the same mosquito that transmits dengue and chikungunya,” says Paho.org.
Recycling is unhygienic. It attracts disgusting maggots and cockroaches that crawl and spread bacteria around the place. Recycling also attracts flies that spread germs as well.
Cockroaches are attracted to boxes and papers that are improperly taken care of and fixed.
Another illness caused by recycling is cancer. The public has been aware chemicals in recycled water bottles can cause cancer.
We have been taught by our science teachers about the consequences and dangers of reusing plastic bottles, so why are we to risk our own health? Don’t put aside your own health for the sake of a few bottles.
To recycle is expensive and time consuming. It’s expensive because people don’t know the proper way to recycle. Figuring out how to properly recycle is a monumental task for the average person. That time and effort could be better spent determining proper disposal techniques.
I have been called selfish and criticized for thinking of humans instead of the planet. Is it selfish to think that recycling has a tremendous amount of risks to humans? No, I don’t think so.
The more we recycle, the more we are putting our health at risk. We cannot take care of Mother Nature if we cannot take care of ourselves.
There are good reasons to recycle. It protects our dear Mother Nature. It could lessen pollution. There are also reasons why we shouldn’t participate in recycling. We are losing the purpose and creating more damage to ourselves along the process.