Recycling is when we make something new out of something old.

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Recycling
Recycling is when we make something new out of something old.
Glass can be melted down and remade into bottles and jars. Recycled metals are also
melted. Recycled paper is pulped
with water to make a slurry from
which new sheets of paper are
made.
Nature is a master recycler.
Nothing is ever wasted. When a tree dies, beetles eat the wood and fungi break it down,
returning nutrients to the soil for other plants to use. Recycling is vital to the natural world,
and we are a part of that world, so we should recycle too.
Why should we recycle ?
• Recycling uses less energy and resources than making things new.
• The raw materials for glass - sand, soda and lime - all have to be dug from the Earth.
They are then melted together at 1500ºC. This takes a lot of energy.
• Supplies of these raw materials and oil for energy will not last forever, so it is important
to save them.
• Bottles and jars are collected for recycling.
The glass is broken into small pieces and melted
down. Melting glass that has already been made
is much easier than melting the raw materials.
• Every tonne of glass that is recycled saves
1.2 tonnes of raw materials and the equivalent of
136 litres of oil energy.
• Glass is not biodegradable, so the glass that we throw away will last forever, using up
valuable space.
What can we re-cycle ?
Nearly everything we use can be recycled:
Food and garden waste
Instead of sending food and garden waste to landfill sites where it goes smelly and makes
the dangerous gas methane, turn it into compost for your garden!
Glass
Glass is 100% recyclable. It can be re-melted and re-used over and over again, for ever!
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Plastic bottles
Most plastics can be recycled, look for the recycle symbol.
Paper and cardboard
Recycling paper and cardboard saves trees! Most
newspapers are made with at least 50% recycled paper.
Drinks cans
Food and drink cans are either made of aluminium or steel.
Both types can be recycled.
Textiles
Clothes, sheets, blankets and shoes can all be recycled.
Materials can be shredded and the fibres made into new
fabrics.
Facts about recycling
At the moment, in the UK we only recycle around 12% of our household rubbish.
Aluminium
• Aluminium is valuable. The recyclable aluminium in the UK is worth £40 million.
• A recycled aluminium can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours.
• If all the aluminium drinks cans recycled in the UK last year were laid end to end, they
would stretch from John O'Groats to Land's End 140 times.
Glass
• 14 million glass bottles and jars are thrown away every
day in England and Wales.
• When one glass bottle is recycled, the energy saved
could light a 100W bulb for four hours.
Paper
• A tonne of recycled paper saves 17 trees, 2.3 cubic
metres of landfill space, 32,000 litres of water,
4200kWh of electricity (enough to heat an average
house for 6 months), and 27kg of air pollutants.
Plastic
• At the moment around 3%, of our plastic is recycled.
• Recycling a plastic bottle saves enough energy to light a 60W lightbulb for six hours.
• Recycled plastic is used for making insulation. Five 2-litre recycled bottles provide
enough padding for a ski jacket.
Steel
• The average person in the UK uses 240 cans each year. Only a quarter of these are
recycled.
• Recycling one tonne of steel saves 1.5 tonnes of iron ore and 0.5 tonnes coal, and
75% of the energy needed to make new steel.
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How to Recycle
Supermarket
There are often recycling facilities near supermarkets.
Front door
Many councils collect recyclables from
your front door.
Shop
Companies will only carry on recycling
if people buy recycled products. Try
to buy recycled notepaper and
greetings cards. Ask your parents to
buy recycled bin bags, toilet paper and
other household products. Buy
recycled and help the environment!
A keen recycler
If you don't know where to take things to be recycled, ask your parents to
contact your local council.
Aluminium foil
Some food wrappers are a mixture of metal and plastic, and can't be
recycled. To check, scrunch it in your hand. Plastic springs back while
aluminium stays scrunched up.
Glass bank
Take bottles and jars to a bottle bank. They need to be put in the right
colour bin. Blue bottles go in the green bin. Throwing bottles into a bottle
bank is fun, but don't do it at night - it's too noisy!
Paper bank
Newspapers and magazines can be put in paper banks. Some places
also collect cardboard and envelopes.

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