Wikipedia
writes
here: Recycling is the reprocessing of used materials that would
otherwise become waste in order to break them down and remake them into
new products. This is in contrast with reuse: collecting waste such as
food containers to be cleaned, refilled and resold. Recycling prevents the
waste being sent to a landfill or incinerator, reduces the consumption of
new raw materials, and is advocated by supporters to require less energy
than virgin production. Commonly recycled materials include glass, paper,
aluminum, asphalt, steel, textiles and plastic. These materials can be
derived either from pre-consumer waste (materials used in manufacturing)
or post-consumer waste (materials discarded by the consumer). Recycling is
a key concept of modern waste management and is the third component of the
waste hierarchy.
One of the main benefits of recycling comes from reducing the amount of
new material required. In theory, recycling allows a material to be
continually reused for the same purpose, and in many cases this theory
holds true, most notably in the recycling of metals and glass.
Since less raw material is required, recycling creates further benefits
for materials where cost of the initial extraction or production is
high—either economically, socially or environmentally. The recycling of
aluminum, for example, saves 95% of the CO2 emissions—an environmentally
harmful greenhouse gas—compared to refining new metal.
Ok all fine and good you may say but what can I do? Well for a
starter separate the waste you produce in the following main groups: 1.
Paper, 2. Glass, 3. Aluminum, 4. Organic Waste and 5. all the rest, well
yes expose separate and in appropiate locations whatever contains
dangerous pollutants like batteries for example. In many locations those
products are collected or can be deposited in special containers in or
near comunity centers, best ask local officials for more information
wherever you live and if they dont know about recycling better elect other
officials when the next elections come up. Ok here are also
10 Ideas for Waste Recycling and Reduction
50 top tips for cutting waste: Pollution comes from waste, so
reducing waste reduces pollution. Try these tips from Friends of the Earth
UK.
More Recycling Information can be found here at:
recycling-revolution.com and here at the
Waste and Recycling directory from Google.
Comparing recycling with normal extraction:
(Source Wikipedia)
| Aluminium |
Recycling one
kilogram of aluminium saves up to 8 kilograms of bauxite, four
kilograms of chemical products and 14 kilowatt hours of
electricity. |
It takes 20 times
more energy to make aluminum from bauxite ore than using
recycled aluminum. |
| Glass |
A 20% reduction
in emissions from glass furnaces and up to 32% reduction in
energy usage. |
For every ton of
recycled glass used, approx 315 kilos of
Carbon dioxide and 1.2 tons of raw materials are spared.
|
| Paper |
A ton of paper
from recycled material conserves about 7,000 gallons of water,
17-31 trees, 60 lb of air pollutants and 4,000 KWh of
electricity. |
Milling paper
from recycled paper uses 20% less energy than it does to
|
