We’ve probably all done it. Taken that plastic bottle out of the fridge either at the store or at home drank the contents to keep ourselves hydrated (good move) then almost automatically put the bottle in the recycling bin.
That may all seem easy and simple for us to do, yet the number of things that need to happen to make that simple action possible is much greater than we might think.
So, in course of this article, let’s look at some of the things that mean we can recycle in the amounts we do and how valuable they are in our battle with waste, and how it is managed in the 21st century.
However, before we look at this, it should be remembered that Recycling is just one of the three Rs:
Table of Contents
1 Reduce
I think we’d all admit we consume too much. In fact, we generate around 3% more waste than we did the year before. Allowing for a bit of compounding, that means we double the amount of waste we create every 25 years. To put that in perspective, the average Western household generates a ton of waste a year. So, by reducing what we consume we can make a massive difference.
2 Reuse
This is not just about recycling but about upcycling and fixing rather than replacing. Do you really need that new piece of furniture with the trendy Scandinavian name, or can you re-purpose what you already have or buy an existing piece from a thrift store or maybe benefit a charity at the same time by buying from one of their outlets. Often, the newest thing is not the best thing at all.
3 Recycle
When we recycle rather than reduce or reuse, we need to do it well. We need to make sure we recycle correctly, and in doing so we have plenty of help from companies that have emerged to perform these vital tasks.
There are plenty of sources on recycling from our local authorities and even more that help the preparation and storage of materials before recycling. The huge volumes of recycled material mean that that they often need to be compacted or baled and getting this operation completed correctly is an under-appreciated task.
Equipment like the compactors and balers made by recyclingbalers.com performs this task and is a key part of any successful recycling process. Without it, recycling, especially from industrial sources, would be hard to manage at the scale we currently do.
Final thoughts
We all create waste, both personally and in the demands we place on the industries that provide us with everyday goods. However, it is no secret that we should reduce that demand where we can, or when we can, meet that demand with a product that would otherwise add to waste.
That then leaves us with that which we recycle, and we can do that responsibly knowing that the items we recycle will be managed well throughout the process.
