The growth of the region is reflected in the huge range of different products produced by the businesses in the district. Castrop-Rauxel, for example, is the headquarters of one of the largest and most respected research companies in Europe that test products in the pharmaceutical industry. One of the most important dairy companies in NRW has its headquarters in Dorsten. The water works in Haltern provide over one million people and the region's industry with water. A well-known producer of sausages and meat is located in Herten, as is an internationally well known producer of drinks. Chemicals manufacturers in Marl supply over 6000 products to no less than 110 countries all around the world; Oer-Erkenschwick is the site of the largest meat goods manufacturer in Germany.

Qualification as a ‘raw material’ has been showing an upward tendency in the district of Recklinghausen for many years now. There are several reasons for the high proportion of graduates in the district of Recklinghausen. The district lies in the middle of the densest university topography in the whole of Germany. The universities of Dortmund, Bochum, Essen and Münster are only a few kilometres away. But Fachhochschule Gelsenkirchen (a university of applied sciences) is also an excellent address for potential students. It has a department in Recklinghausen, whose courses are particularly linked to the special strengths of business and industry in the Emscher-Lippe region. The new campus, which consists of three buildings grouped around a central square, caters for over 1000 students studying business law, business engineering, chemicals and material technology.

Theatres here include the Europahalle in Castrop Rauxel, the Ruhrfestspielhaus in Recklinghausen, the theatre in Marl, the amphitheatre in Dorsten and other large municipal halls in towns within the district. From here orchestras and theatre companies set out on their tours: most prominent amongst them are the New Westphalian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Westphalian Federal Theatre in Castrop Rauxel. Recklinghausen is a vital component in the staging of the nationally-acclaimed Ruhrfestspiele. Classical music and jazz in a castle, folk music and festivals in a park or one of the cultural venues are further highlights in the cultural calendar. The district of Recklinghausen contains a huge variety of interesting and exciting museums. The four most prominent museums include the Glaskasten in Marl, the Westphalian Roman Museum in Haltern, the Westphalian Jewish Museum in Dorsten and the Icon Museum in Recklinghausen. The annual Adolf-Grimme (German television) award ceremony in Marl, including the Marl video prize, are also internationally important events. Young musicians will be particularly interested to know that the town of Marl invites the winners of the national young musicians’ competition to perform twice a year at their traditional ‘Marler Debüt’ concerts.

The district of Recklinghausen has another plus. More than a quarter of the district is covered in woods and forests. At the heart of the Hohe Mark natural park lies Haltern, a lakeside town, 85% of which consists of green areas, with the largest natural reservoir in the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia. Furthermore the district of Recklinghausen contains the Haard, the largest unbroken area of woodland in the Ruhr district; it has large areas for recreation and relaxation, nature study paths and, in addition, camping sites on its borders. The towns of Castrop-Rauxel, Gladbeck and Marl also richly deserve their titles as ‘green industrial towns’. Romantic streams, meadows and woods, rivers and valleys, long stretches of hillside and a good network of hiking tracks are the major rural features in the district, and underline once again the high quality of life in the region.