Here we will talk about what happens to the materials that you have put in your recycling bin or taken to your local recycling centre. First, lets remind ourselves why recycling is important:
Why recycle?
- Recycling - putting materials aside for recycling helps in different ways; we send less rubbish to landfill and we save valuable materials and energy - for example, plastic bottles can be converted into fleeces and garden furniture, which saves energy.
- Recycling helps to protect the environment by reducing the need for new raw materials, which will not last forever - if we don't recycle more we may run out!
- If we don't need to use as many raw materials, this means there will be less mining and quarrying - which will help preserve the landscape and ensure less damage to plants and animals.
- Recycling saves energy. It takes less energy to make new products from recycled items than to make them from the raw materials. For example, making a recycled can only needs about 5% of the energy it would take to make the can from raw materials.
- Saving energy can also benefit the environment because less pollution and 'greenhouse gases' are emitted. We may even be able to slow down or reverse climate change.
- Less space would be needed for our other waste, so landfill sites will last longer.
- Recycling creates jobs.
- Recycling means that we create less waste, so the council does not have to pay as much to put our waste in landfill sites. This means that if we all recycle we will help to limit the amount of council tax we have to pay now and in the future.
So, what happens to all of the materials once they are collected? Here we will concentrate on the 5 main types of materials that are collected; Paper, Plastic, Glass, Aluminium and Steel.
How is Paper Recycled?
- All of your used newspapers, comics and magazines are collected from paper banks and your kerbside collection bins. They are then transported to a recycling plant.
- At the recycling plant, all inks, glues, staples, plastic film etc. are washed off and the paper is soaked in water to turn it into a mushy pulp.
- Cleaned paper pulp is sent to a paper-making machine where the pulp is made into a damp paper sheet. This is dried to form the new recycled paper.
- The dried paper is rolled onto big reels, each one about 30 tonnes in weight. The paper reels are then cut into smaller sizes to be sold.
- The paper is then used for national and local newspapers throughout the UK and Europe.
Did you know that the old newspaper or magazine collected from your doorstep may be made into a new newspaper ready for you or your family to buy in less than 3 weeks?
Recovered paper can be made into all sorts of new products, such as:
- Newspapers.
- Magazines.
- Printing paper.
- Cardboard.
- Greetings cards.
- Toy boxes.
- And even toilet rolls!
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How is Plastic Recycled?
- Your plastic bottles are taken to a recycling centre where they are sorted into their different types. There is a special machine that can scan each bottle to determine what type of plastic it is (there are many different types of plastic).
- Once the bottles have been sorted, they are squashed into blocks and sent to be baled.
- The bottles are then chopped into little plastic chips. The plastic is cleaned to remove any paper labels and dirt.
- The clean plastic chips are melted down and used to make lots of new items.
Did you know 25 plastic bottles go into making a new fleece jacket and recycling one plastic bottle saves enough energy to run a 60w lightbulb for 6 hours?
There is a wide range of products made from recycled plastic:
- New plastic bottles.
- Polyethylene bin liners and carrier bags.
- Rulers and pens.
- Carpets, flooring and window frames.
- Building insulation board.
- Video, compact disc and cassette cases.
- Fencing and garden furniture.
- Water butts, garden sheds and composters.
- Seed trays.
- Road signs.
- Anoraks and fleeces.
- Fibre filling for sleeping bags and duvets.
- And a variety of office accessories.
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How is Glass Recycled
- Glass put by residents into bottle banks is taken to a glass recycling factory.
- The glass is then sorted into its various colours.
- The glass is crushed into small chunks and lids, labels, corks and other things are removed using a shaking machine.
- The glass is then crushed even smaller and is stored ready to be turned into new glass bottles.
Did you know glass milk bottles used by your milkman are reused an average of 12 times?
The uses for recycled glass range from the ordinary to the completely unexpected!
- New bottles and jars.
- 'Processed sand' - finely ground glass for golf bunkers.
- 'Glassphalt' for road surfacing - around 14 million bottles were crushed and used to resurface the M6 motorway!
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How are food and drinks cans recycled?
- Food and drinks cans are picked up from the kerbside collection bins and recycling centres and then taken to a recycling factory.
- At the recycling factory the cans are sorted into aluminium and steel using big magnets. They are then baled and taken for crushing into large blocks. The bales are melted down and formed into big slabs.
Aluminium slabs can be huge, 2 x 8 metres and 60cm thick and weigh as much as 20 tonnes. Each one contains about 1.6 million drinks cans.
- The slabs are sent to mills where they are rolled into very thin coiled sheets.
- The coiled sheets are sent to can makers all over Europe and new cans are made out of these coils.
The range of uses for aluminium and steel is enormous. For example, aluminium parts can be found in planes, trains and cars; steel can be used for bikes, bridges and train tracks.Of course your can may be recycled into a new tin or can!
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