How Does Recycling Work?
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Recycling Basics
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Curbside collecting of recyclable materials is the most common way for facilities to get the goods into the recycling plants in the United States. Exceptions to this are items like refrigerators, which contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs); technology waste, such as computers; and cell phones, which are difficult to recycle and contain toxins. Recycling of such items is done in special recycling centers, where items often are dropped off by the consumer. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, packaging accounts for about a third of the waste stream of developed countries, and most of this can be recycled. Plastic "peanuts" used for packaging are not recyclable, though they can be reused. The Peanut Pipeline can be reached at (800) 828-2214; call it to find a commercial packaging company near you that will take the peanuts back.
Curbside Recycling Centers
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Depending on the recycling center in your area, different materials can be recycled. Most curbside recycling companies sort and clean the recyclables before shipping them to different industrial facilities that process material into new products. Curbside recycling centers commonly accept paper, glass, plastic, aluminum, steel and tin. Know exactly what your recycling center accepts. According to NatureWorks LLC, plastics are numbered from 1 to 7 based on the resin content to facilitate sorting at recycling centers. Some recycling centers do not recycle the higher levels of plastics. Waste with food scraps clinging to it will also often not be accepted, so rinse these items before placing them in your bin.
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What Happens to Recycled Material?
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Manufacturing of new products from recycled ones is an industry that is developing rapidly. According to the Muncie Indiana Sanitary District, recycled plastic bottles are used to make toys, sleeping bags and carpet, among other things. The EPA states that some uses of recycled glass are new glass containers, and "innovative applications" like incorporation into road asphalt and pedestrian bridges. Paper can be used again for countless purposes, including printing paper, cardboard and newspapers. There is a limit to how many times paper can be broken down and reused, as eventually, it will lose the ability to be pasted together. According to recycle-more.co.uk, aluminum cans must be shredded, decoated, melted, cast into ingots and rolled before they are made into new cans. Remembering the energy- and material- intensive process that recycling requires emphasizes the importance of reducing and reusing as alternatives to recycling.
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Resources
- Photo Credit EPA;public domain
