Recycling is very helpful in keeping the renewable resources away from landfill sites – it also reduces the harmful impact on the environment in our surrounding areas. Every year in Malaysia, new landfills are making an appearance because of metal scrap and other types of waste which can easily be recycled.
According to environmental experts, most municipal waste can be recycled. An average household produces nearly 1.130 pounds of garbage every year. These forms of garbage mainly consist of glass, metal scrap like aluminum, cartons, juice boxed and plastics. These products can be recycled and they save a considerable amount of energy required to produce new products from raw material.
Here are some key features of common recyclable products:
Glass
A large amount of the glass is salvaged by recycling bottles and jars and is remade into new bottles and jars. Glass recycling is a simple procedure of crushing glass into small sized pellets which is called the cullet. Manufacturers use nearly 70% of this cullet to make new products. Every 10% of the cullet reduces the energy that is required to make new products by 3%.
Aluminum
Aluminum forms a large percentage of the metal scrap discarded every year. Aluminum is a unique metal which can be reused several times without losing its original quality. As per the aluminum association, when recycled aluminum is used to produce new products, it only consumes 5% of the energy resources. According to experts, one ton of recycled aluminum can save 32 barrels of oil and reduce carbon footprints caused by the manufacturing process. Aluminum manufacturing process required mining for metals, like bauxite. Bauxite is deposited deep under the soil bed and in the mining process, several other environmental substances like natural rocks and sediments are destroyed.
Plastic
Plastic is another common product apart from metal scrap that is recycled in high volumes. The most common plastic product collected is PET. It is mostly used to store cold beverages and sodas. It takes only one tenth of the energy required to make new plastic, when the old ones are recycled. Plastics lose their original quality when they are recycled, so they are used to several other forms of degraded materials. For example, low graded plastic is made into plastic bags and other recycled products. Eventually, repeatedly recycled plastic becomes unusable even in a recycled form. However, it is far less damaging than it is in its original form.
Conclusion
Recycling does produce energy efficiency and savings, prevents consumption of natural resources and also reduces harmful environmental impact. Recycling metal scrap like aluminum reduces the need for mining fresh metal like bauxite. Mining causes severe environmental damage and also land destruction. Other materials, like plastic and glass, may not be as versatile as aluminum, but they still can be used in different forms. For example glass recycling reduces the need for substances like sand quartz, and also prevents carbon emissions. Overall, if these materials are discarded responsibly by each one of us to recycling companies, we can contribute to environment protection individually.
Last Updated on 7 months by Thanam Industry
