Top 10 Ways to Recycle

Learning to recycle and waste less is important for keeping our planet green. If you care about the
environment, there are tons of easy ways to help out by recycling everyday items! Check out the top 10
ways to recycle in time for Earth Day this April 22nd!

Top 10 Ways to Recycle
re use old jars and containers by storing your art supplies in them
Top 10 Ways to Recycle
When you start looking, you may see ways to recycle everywhere!
Courtesy of stitchandwire.com
No.10: Reuse Plastic Bags

Often plastic shopping bags get used once and thrown away, but that bag can be used for future
groceries or as a garbage bag.
No.9: Buy Rechargeable Batteries

Batteries are filled with toxic materials that are terrible for the environment, so go green by buying
batteries that you can recharge. There are also special companies that will collect your old batteries and
recycle them safely.
No.8: Recycling at School

Its easy to remember to recycle at home, but what about school? If your school doesnt already have
recycling bins, ask your teacher or administrator if they can get them or make one yourself in fact,
recycling can be a great project for the whole class.
No.7: Spending Green

Support eco-friendly companies by buying products made from recycled material this could be
anything from pencils and paper to wallets and clothing!
No.6: Electronics and the Earth

What do you do when your with your phone when it finally goes kaput? Don't just toss it in the trash,
many cellphone providers will recycle your phone for you when you get a new one and if not, go online
and find your nearest electronics recycling depot. They can recycle everything from laptops to phones!
No.5: Compost the Most

Ask your parents or your school to start a compost. All your biodegradable food garbage like egg shells
and banana peels will soon turn to soil that is great for planting.
No.4: Sheets, Towels and Clothing

Old sheets, towels and clothing can be donated to charity to be sold in thrift stores, or to an animal
shelter as bedding and cleaning materials.
No.3: Get Crafty!

If youre artistic you probably already know that there are a million ways to reuse jars, tubs and paper. A
few crafts that include recycled materials are paper mache pinatas using old newspapers, painting using
old jars, tin cans and plastic containers and using old magazines to make collages.
No.2: Green Thumb

If youre not just green but also have a green thumb, you might want to try making old 2 litre pop
bottles and empty jars into planters for flowers and herbs.
No.1: Recycle Every Day

The best way to recycle is to do it every day in your home and wherever you go. Remember to sort
newspapers and magazines, plastic containers and bottles and assorted paper into your recycling and
urge your friends and family to look out for ways to recycle too!



Recycling Cleans Up Our Environment

Among the top alternative waste-management solutions available, recycling continues to be met with
varying levels of resistance. It requires minimal consumer involvement for maximum return, but a
broader understanding of why its beneficial seems to be absent. Here's what happens to our trash
when its not recycled. The majority of our municipal solid waste is buried in landfills (see References 4),
or as the case was in 2010 29 million tons is incinerated by one of the United States 87 waste-to-
energy facilities (see References 5). While the obvious benefit of burning solid matter is that it alleviates
some of the burden placed on our limited landfill space, there are two notable drawbacks: the
generation of pollution particulates and post-combustion ash, the latter of which typically contains
assorted heavy metals. Recycling preexisting materials, on the other hand, lessens the pollution and
litter entering our natural environment as well as the volume of waste that we bury and burn.
Recycling Conserves Natural Resources

Materials derived from the natural environment -- such as living organisms, mineral ores and water -
arent in endless supply, so sustainably managing them today ensures future generations will be able to
utilize them. An equally notable consideration is how to use materials throughout their entire life cycle
in the most efficient manner while minimizing and even neutralizing the impact that their harvest has on
biodiversity and habitat (see References 8). Recycling works on several fronts, not only by making the
most of the various materials created from valuable natural resources that are already in circulation but
also by preventing virgin stock from being unnecessarily utilized and/or depleted.
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Recycling Reduces Energy Consumption

It takes significantly less energy to convert preexisting consumer materials into recycled versions than it
does to extract, process and manufacture raw materials into brand new products. Take office paper, for
example. Recycling 1 ton of it is 43 percent less energy intensive than starting from scratch, as is
recovering steel, plastic and aluminum, at a 60 percent, 75 percent, and 96 percent reduction in energy
consumption levels, respectively, per material (see References 7). The obvious energy savings are
coupled with additional environmental benefits including the release of fewer polluting emissions into
our air, water and soil (see References 2), all of which would normally require a great deal of time, labor
and resources to clean up.
Recycling Boosts The Economy

Similarly, it makes fiscal sense to reuse materials that are already in circulation. The decreased cost of
products manufactured with recycled stock is as advantageous as the thriving nature of the industry
itself, which creates hundreds of thousands of career opportunities for individuals across the country.
Municipalities also benefit, not only by reducing their landfill expenses and streamlining the frequency
with which they must collect community waste, but also by receiving a solid income stream from the
sale of reclaimed materials (see References 7).
Recycling Reminds Us How Our Actions Affect The World At Large

It may be tempting to adopt an out of sight, out of mind mentality with regard to recycling,
rationalizing that someone else should worry about the problem, but that can manifest even larger
waste-management problems. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the middle of our seas, where our
disposable culture has yielded such a monumental plastic problem that it has infiltrated multiple oceanic
gyres. Despite popular belief, these debris-covered regions dont actually look like floating trash islands.
In fact, constantly pulsating and rotating ocean currents have transformed our post-consumer plastic
waste into tiny bits and pieces (see References 9), many of which are inadvertently consumed by
countless marine species since the garbage often resembles plankton. Beyond the unfortunate increase
in mortality rates among seabirds, turtles, seals and other types of fish, scientists are now concerned
that the endocrine-disrupters found in our bisphenol A-laden plastic waste ultimately move up the food
chain to humans where they bioaccumulate in our bodies (see References 10), resulting in assorted
health issues and reproductive challenges.



Recycling is a process to change (waste) materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially
useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air
pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by reducing the need for
"conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to plastic
production.[1][2] Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component
of the "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle" waste hierarchy.



Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles, and electronics.
Although similar in effect, the composting or other reuse of biodegradable wastesuch as food or
garden wasteis considered recycling.[2] Materials to be recycled are either brought to a collection
center or picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials bound
for manufacturing.In the strictest sense, recycling of a material would produce a fresh supply of the
same material
Importance


Recycling is one of the best ways for you to have a positive impact on the world in which we live.
Recycling is important to both the natural environment and us. We must act fast as the amount of waste
we create is increasing all the time.

The amount of rubbish we create is constantly increasing because:

Increasing wealth means that people are buying more products and ultimately creating more waste.
Increasing population means that there are more people on the planet to create waste.
New packaging and technological products are being developed, much of these products contain
materials that are not biodegradable.
New lifestyle changes, such as eating fast food, means that we create additional waste that isnt
biodegradable.

Environmental Importance

Recycling is very important as waste has a huge negative impact on the natural environment.

Harmful chemicals and greenhouse gasses are released from rubbish in landfill sites. Recycling helps
to reduce the pollution caused by waste.
Habitat destruction and global warming are some the affects caused by deforestation. Recycling
reduces the need for raw materials so that the rainforests can be preserved.
Huge amounts of energy are used when making products from raw materials. Recycling requires much
less energy and therefore helps to preserve natural resources.

Importance To People

Recycling is essential to cities around the world and to the people living in them.

No space for waste. Our landfill sites are filling up fast, by 2010, almost all landfills in the UK will be
full.
Reduce financial expenditure in the economy. Making products from raw materials costs much more
than if they were made from recycled products.
Preserve natural resources for future generations. Recycling reduces the need for raw materials; it
also uses less energy, therefore preserving natural resources for the future.

3R
Because of global warming, pollution, diminishing forests, and a limited supply of natural resources,
people are becoming more aware of the importance of protecting the environment.

The 3 Rs in solid waste management generally refer to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Waste in the
environment affects the air, water, land, animals, plants, and humans. When we use the environment as
a waste dump, we take away land from wildlife, pollute the environment, and deplete natural resources.
One way people are doing their part to protect the environment is adopting the Reduce, Reuse, and
Recycle Waste Program.