Let's talk about recycling

Recycling has been around since way before the 1960's but is now a developed and modernised tool to help our current waste issue. It is common practise nowadays to separate your trash into recyclables and non recyclables and have it collected with your general trash via the local council. The most common materials recycled today are paper, plastic, aluminium and glass, although an easy practise there are still so many people that do not participate in this. The overall aim of recycling is to prevent the manufacturing of raw materials by reusing them instead.

Like all topics, recycling has its advantages and disadvantages yet I feel like recycling is broadcast as the solution to our global waste problems, but I can assure it is not. Firstly I would like to know why we are still globally producing over 300 million tons of plastic every year, never mind the manufacture of other recyclable items when we have these facilities! Recycling certain materials prevents them from being put straight into landfill, however we could now argue that due to the increase of material production, recycling facilities are becoming choked with too many items affecting the number of items actually recycled. It is stated that recycling plastic can save up to 66% of energy consumed in manufacture, reduce water usage by 90% and remove 50% of emissions produced by sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide, so again...why are we still producing more?!. Over the years our recyclying has also been exported to different countries specifically China and Hong Kong where there is more space and cheaper labour costs. China however has now put an end to this due to the amount of general trash being mixed with recyclable materials thus preventing them from being recycled and of no use.

All of our recyclable plastics are categorised into 7 numbers and are displayed on our plastic items surrounded by the recyclable symbol. These numbers indicate what type of plastic the item is yet many people do not realise that the possiblity of recycling theses items depends on their local facility and councils regulations. Therefore items that say they are recyclable may not be in your area, thus being sent straight to landfill. To find out what plastics and other materials your local facility takes, you have to contact or browse the web for your councils waste and recycling regulations.

Another common issue within our recycling facilities is contamination. Some councils collect all recyclable materials in one container instead of separating it, which can contaminate the other items with food particles, bacteria, and liquids; thus limiting its chance to be recycled. Other toxins such as paint and aerosol cans could also pass through the facility and contaminate new recycled products. To prevent this you should always wash and dry your recyclables before putting them into your bin and keep them covered if open to natural elements. If you are recycling aerosol cans, please make sure they are completely empty.

Recycling can be a great tool as it spreads environmental awareness and allows people to have responsibility of their waste by separating it. Some locations have a collection service which makes it more assessable for people who cannot get to their local recycling facility. Although this is a good first step in controlling your waste, recycling costs a lot of energy. The machinery used to break down the items produces some green house gases in addition to the air pollution the lorries cause when collecting recyclables and taking them to the facility. The more trucks that are employed to pick up the products, the more air pollution created, however manufacturing items from raw materials most likely produces much more pollution than recyling.

My final issue with recycling is that certain materials can only be recycled a number of times due to the fibres becoming too short to produce new products. Plastic can only be recycled once or twice and paper only 5-7 times resulting in them ending up in landfill eventually; whereas glass and aluminium can be recycled infinetly.

Although a lot of products are now packaged in recyclable materials we should still not rely on recycling and cut down on our use of packaging due to the consequences we do not think about. As quoted by Bea Johnson, 'to live a zero waste lifestyle is not to recycle more but to recycle less'. I believe that recycling is a great first step into living a zero waste lifestyle if you don't already do it. It allows you to analyse your trash and realise what can be made into another product than just sending it straight to landfill. Recycling is one of the last points of the 5R's and therefore as a consumer you should think about whether you could refuse the item in the first place or reuse it in another form. Throughout my journey to zero waste I have still been recycling and I feel like I always will. However I have noticed my recycling bin becomming less full over time and therefore only recycle what i cannot reuse. Have a look in your rubbish bin and see how many items can actually be recycled!

Some facts:

Up to 60% of your general trash could be recycled

50% of your general trash could be composted