Whenever we throw something away — for example a used battery, a plastic bottle, a couch, a pen, or a car — it normally gets buried in a landfill, where toxic materials from discarded household products and industrial waste might seep into the ground, or burned in an incinerator, which release CO
2 emissions into the air. But there are
ways to protect the environment by recycling. The more we recover and reuse products and materials instead of throwing them away,
the less impact we have on our environment and the more sustainable our production and consumption practices become. This is an example of
how recycling practices can lead to environmental sustainability.