Writing Feedback / IELTS: ... To what extent do you think laws are needed to make people recycle more of their waste ? [2]

less waste in the environment

Recycling is one of the key topics in our modernization life, especially when there are many issues is occurring on our planet such as Global Warming, Climate Changes, Animals Extinction and so on. It's a critical responsibility of human beings to protect our environment, to safeguard our future. But in fact, the amounts of waste are being recycled is just minimal and it is not fast enough to catch up with the rate the human are disposing the trash into natural habitat. In such scenario, governments should enforce some kind of movements to make recycling activities more efficient.

The legal requirement which is given by the government is the most powerful facilitator for the changes to happen. The truth is most people understand the responsibility of recycling plastic bags, disposed papers,... but very few of them take it seriously. It is their habit that makes them tend to resist of recycling seemly because they are getting used to what they do every single day. In order to change a habit, it has never been easy. Law enforcement to some extent is the necessary switch that kills these harmful habits and forcing people adapt to the new changes. Let look at Singapore in the 1900s, people are used to splitting chewing-gum on the rail train and causing the disruption of the subway system. Singapore government subsequently had issued an official ban on chewing-gum consumption to prevent further breakdown of their railway system. The law requirement has put an end to the way Singaporean habit of eating chewing gum definitely and furthermore, Singapore government has even addressed high penalty on throwing waste in the public. As a result, Singaporean tend to be extremely careful whenever they try to dispose of the garbage; and there will be no surprise that Singapore is one of world cleanest country.

On the other hand, the law is simple acted as an awareness activity. People will not know what they need to do until they are told to do so. When children are born, they hardly know what is right, what is wrong. It is the parental guidance, social etiquette and principal laws that show them the right things. For instance, we won't know whether crossing the street when the traffic light is red is wrong until the laws mentions. Government laws are general agreements amongst people in society which create boundaries to shape our behaviors. Through conventional consensus, people will practice actions unconsciously in a long-term run. One way or another, it might put a seed of awareness or educate our next generations to protect their future home and their environment.

After all, recycling is still an individual awareness and responsibility at the moment; yet legal requirements might need to be issued to generalize the actions and to enforce the changes of old bad habits.