Recycling
A brief history of recycling
Human beings have actually been recycling for thousands of years, from the American Indian's liberal recycling of buffalo bones, to the Romans melting down spearheads. Although recycling was never as prominent as in current times, there are marked periods in history when recycling has been prominent. World War II – During the Second World War promotion campaigns were pushed by the government to encourage citizens to recycle wherever they could. The contribution of materials and resources to the war effort was crucial, since the usual workforce were defending their country and therefore unable to be collecting and refining resources. Metals and paper products were needed to produce war materials, without which warfare would have been difficult. The 1970's depression – During the 1970's surging energy costs caused a huge investment in recycling. Whilst the universal symbol for recycling was designed in the 1960's, its widespread recognition came about in the 1970's, along with the introduction of recycling drop off centres. From the 1970's, awareness of recycling has advanced hugely. Campaigns, kerbside collection, and the simplicity of separate bins have made it easier for everyone to go green. Why should we recycle?
Some shocking statistics
Households in the UK produce around 30 million tons of waste per year of which about 40 per cent of it is currently being recycled! To try and visualise this huge amount of rubbish, equivalent in weight would be every single car in the UK. This waste has to go somewhere and unfortunately we cannot burn it or bury it in landfill sites forever.
Why is recycling so important?
You may well feel that you alone recycling won't make much difference, but the more people determined to recycle, the greater the chance that we can save our planet! If things don't improve eventually there will be no landfill space in which to bury our rubbish. Burning rubbish is not a suitable alternative because it produces harmful greenhouse gases that released into the atmosphere will further contribute to global warming. Non-renewable energy sources will eventually run out, so recycling materials means less reliance on these non-renewable fossil fuels.
How to recycle
Recycling in the home
Kerbside Collection – It is easier than ever before to recycle at home. Your local council will most likely have a kerbside collection scheme in operation, so that recyclable materials are collected from you.
Put a system in place that works for you – The council can provide you with separate bins for separate the different recyclable materials, like glass, metal, paper, plastic and food. Storing these bins in an accessible place will encourage all the family to recycle. Stick to a system for long enough and it will become second nature! Some materials need to be rinsed and de-labelled before they can be collected. Contact your council to find out more – Most councils collect recyclable waste fortnightly. If you are unsure about when collections are scheduled for your area, or what recyclable materials are collected, look at your council's website. Alternatively contact them directly and they should be able to provide you with all the information you need. Other alternatives to collection – Should your bins be full then your closest large supermarket is likely to have a bring-site, with large bins that store recyclable waste. Alternatively, you can take an array of recyclable materials to drop off centres. Information about your closest centre can be found online.
Recycling in the garden
Composting A compost heap or bin can be a simple and fantastic way to recycle your everyday food and garden waste. The compost produced is the perfect material for nourishing your garden plants. What does composting involve? Disposing of organic materials so that they can biodegrade and become a fertiliser for your garden. Micro-organisms and insects break down the organic material to a fine, rich fertiliser. A warm temperature is crucial for these organisms to thrive and do their work. The process can take anything from three to nine months. How do I purchase or make a compost bin? Most DIY stores and garden centres sell compost bins, or if you're feeling creative you can make your own. Construct a frame out of wood and secure it to the ground with posts at the corners. Make sure you choose a well lit, well drained location which, if possible, is out of the wind. A lid on your compost bin will banish rain, and keep the material from becoming too moist. What should go into a compost bin? It is important that you know exactly what can go in your compost bin. A tick (yes list) will stimulate the composting process
Recycling in the Workplace
How much waste do businesses produce?
UK business and industry produce around 60 million tons of waste per year, approximately twice the amount of household waste. Approximately 52 per cent of this waste is being recycled and it is thought that it is possible to recycle about 80 per cent of this waste.
How can businesses recycle?
Through contact with their local council Businesses are often in close contact with their local council, who co-ordinate collection of industrial waste, and notify them of any changes to their system. By having a recycling system Businesses target materials that produce the largest volumes of waste. If the council are unable to collect specific waste, or unable to collect industrial waste altogether, businesses often organise a scheme wherein refuse is transported to appropriate recycling centres. Some businesses co-ordinate with their suppliers, and organise goods to be carried in recyclable packaging. On a smaller scale, within the workplace recycle bins can be conveniently located so that employees can dispose of products such as paper in an eco-friendly manner. Businesses can save money by recycling Waste disposal costs are greatly reduced by recycling excessive industrial waste. Therefore, not only do businesses and the economy benefit, but so does the environment. Recycling and shoppingOne of the best ways to recycle is to consider it when shopping and buying new products.
Think about the products that you buy how you will dispose of them
Before you place any goods into your shopping trolley, check to see if they branded with eco-friendly symbols. Consider if once you have finished with them whether or not they can be recycled, or alternatively sold to be used by someone else.
Packaging Many products are over-packaged! Does fruit really need to be individually wrapped in plastic, and then contained in a plastic box? Do you really need to use new plastic carrier bags to transport your purchases from a store to your car? When food shopping, select products that contain minimal packaging and packaging that can be recycled. Rather than using new carrier bags each time you shop, save some and reuse them until they break! Selling your old items for someone else to use Online shopping sites such as Ebay and Amazon promote eco-friendliness. Rather than binning your old clothes, electronics and home ware for landfill, sell them online to others who might benefit from them. You can even make a spare bit of cash for your trouble! Car boot sales are an old fashioned but sturdy method in which to sell your old things. If you're feeling generous, you can always donate to your local charity shop, meaning you'll be eco-friendly as well as helping the less fortunate. Recycling symbols
Generally recognised recycling symbols
Recycling different materialsRecycling different materials, the cost and environmental benefits of doing so.Paper
How is paper recycled?
After collection, paper is sorted by type and transported to the closest paper mill. The paper is mixed with water which causes it to become a pulp. The pulp is cleaned of ink and made into fresh paper products. Contrary to popular belief, paper fibres can be reused up to seven times before they become ineffective.
How can I recycle paper?
Other than sorting and recycling your paper waste for kerbside collection, there is much you can do to save wasting paper. Simple things like cancelling unwanted deliveries of junk mail, printing on both sides of copier paper, and reading news online as opposed to buying newspaper will make a huge difference.
Why recycle paper?
We cannot continue to destroy the world's rainforests. In prehistoric times the earth's land was covered with 60% rainforest. Today that figure has been reduced to just 30%, and it's still decreasing! Without trees and plants undergoing photosynthesis that absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen, we wouldn't be able to survive. Animals also rely on the world's trees for their survival and deforestation is having a dramatic affect on many ecosystems, including our own.
Uses of recycled paper
Recycled paper is of the same quality as virgin paper. Therefore it is used to make the same products: newspapers, magazines, paper pads and printer and copier paper.
How does recycling paper save money?
Although recycled paper may sometimes cost a few pence more than virgin paper, economies of scale will in time mean that recycled paper will always be a cheaper option. So the more people who choose recycled paper, the cheaper it will become.
Wood
How is wood recycled?
There are 2 main ways in which wood is recycled:
Firstly naturally fallen wood is collected before it begins to rot. This wood is then has its bark stripped, the bark itself can then be used as fuel to power the process of timber recycling. The remaining wood is then cut down in size according to the demand for logs to make furniture or fibres to make paper. Secondly is the wood from unwanted old wooden furniture, old wood that has been used for construction or to make items small and large items. This wood can be reused to make new items or for new construction projects. Alternatively it can be ground down and reformed to make medium density fibreboard. Medium Density Fibreboard commonly known as MDF is a wood product made by breaking down hardwood or softwood into wood fibres. MDF can be used to make building materials and furniture and other waste products from the process such as sawdust can be used for animal bedding.
How can I recycle wood?
Rather than a trip to the tip, visit your civic amenity site for your old wood to be recycled. When purchasing timber derived products, such as animal bedding, try to choose a recycled brand.
Why recycle wood?
It is often forgotten that beautiful wooden furniture once started life as a beautiful tree. Remember, vulnerable species such as the orang-utan are being threatened by deforestation. Deforestation is horrifying. More horrifying, is that we pay for it to happen. Purchasing virgin wood products economically benefits the process of deforestation, therefore deforestation continues.
Uses of recycled wood
Re-cycled wood can be ground down and reformed to make MDF building materials and furniture. In addition other waste products from the process such as sawdust can be used to make paper or provide animal bedding.
How does recycling wood save money?
The means to collect wood as a raw material costs more than the means to recycle the wood we already have. Therefore, recycled wood costs around less than virgin wood. So next time you buy wooden products, go green and save a tree!
Glass
How is glass recycled?
Upon arrival at a treatment plant, glass is sorted by colour and cleansed of impurities. It is then crushed into a fine powder, melted down and reshaped into new products.
How can I recycle glass?
Glass is usually accepted through your council kerbside collection. However if it isn't, you can deposit glass at bottle banks found in many large supermarket car parks. When recycling glass jars, peel off any labels and rinse them thoroughly.
Why recycle glass?
One glass bottle takes a minimum of one million years to totally biodegrade in landfill. Energy is required to produce the very high temperatures needed to produce and manufacture glass products. This therefore releases carbon dioxide and other undesirable gas emissions into the atmosphere.
Uses of recycled glass
Generally, glass bottles and glass jars are reborn as exactly what they were before, a bottle or a jar. Second hand glass is also used in the manufacture of other materials such as abrasive bricks and artificial turf.
How does recycling glass save money?
Up to thirty gallons of oil are saved for every tonne of glass which is recycled! We should do whatever we can to preserve non-renewable energy sources.
Plastic
How is plastic recycled?
There are around fifty different types of plastic, so when recycling each type is manually or mechanically sorted before being shredded and then melted down into their liquid form. The liquid is moulded into special shapes and cooled so it hardens into its new plastic. These plastic ingots can then be melted down at a later date to make new items.
How can I recycle plastic?
If your council provided kerbside collection does not accept plastics, there are various drop off points that you can visit. You can ask your local council for information about suitable drop off points, who will be happy to point you in the right direction. The most common home recycled plastics are drinks bottles. Prepare these for recycling by removing the labels and rinsing thoroughly. It is also important to remove the lids so that the bottles can be crushed flat.
Why recycle plastic?
Professional studies suggest that 8% of the world's precious fossil fuels are burnt during the production of plastic. Plastics take millions of years to biodegrade and unnecessarily take up landfill space. Burning plastics instead of throwing them into landfill sites is also unsuitable due to the nasty greenhouse gases that this produces which then causes global warming. Recycling plastics wherever possible will significantly reduce the above problems and save our natural resources.
Uses of recycled plastic
Recycled plastic is tremendously versatile. Not only is it found in clothing, carpeting and industrial strapping, but it also contains valuable oil which can be extracted and reused.
How does recycling plastic save money?
Producing plastic from scratch consumes almost twice the amount of energy than recycling it. Recycling plastic will help to keep the price of goods down.
Metal
How is metal recycled?
Metals are first of all sorted by ferrous and non ferrous metal types. Ferrous metals are metallic because they contain iron. All the metals are then further sorted and separated into iron, steel, aluminium, copper, lead and zinc, before being melted down and processed into their raw materials. These raw materials are then used to make new metals.
How can I recycle metals?
Nearly all metals can be recycled to make new high quality metals. The raw materials within scrap metal is valuable, so if you have a large quantity of scrap metal you may wish to sell it to a scrap metal dealer. Most scrap metal dealers will be happy to collect the scrap metal from you. Some waste metals can be collected by your council kerbside collection. Please ensure that your waste cans have had their labels removed and are clean. Alternatively if you have a small amount of unusual waste metal such as broken vehicle parts, you can take it to your local recycling centre, where they will be happy to take it off your hands.
Why recycle metal?
To make new metal from scratch involves removing the raw materials from the ground and processing them. This all requires energy and therefore has carbon emissions. Recycling metal enables new metal to be produced by using less energy, therefore less carbon emissions. Recycling metals also helps to conserve our planet's natural resources.
Uses of recycled metals
Recycled metals are of the same quality as new virgin metals, so can be used in the same way as brand new metals.
How does recycling metal save money?
Recycling metal saves money because the raw materials can be extracted from scrap metal easier than by extracting and processing new raw materials. This means that processing raw materials from scrap is quicker, plus requires less resources and energy. All this means that new metal made from recycled metal is less expensive to produce than new metal, and will therefore be less expensive to buy.
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