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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
- Sprache: Englisch
Learn the facts about recycling and discover the best way to make an impact Recycling is a simple action we can take that has an immediate positive effect. It keeps waste out of landfills, conserves natural resources, prevents pollution, and saves energy. Who wouldn't want to do this? But recycling isn't always straightforward. With so many different rules, it can be tough to work out the right thing to do. If you're worried that you're not recycling properly, or wondering whether you could be recycling more, this is the book for you. Recycling For Dummies cuts through the confusion around what you can and can't recycle. This easy-to-follow manual breaks down recycling codes, symbols, and rules in a straightforward way that anyone can understand and apply. You'll gain insight into the recycling process (where does that stuff go, anyway?) and learn tons of tips on reusing items in your daily life to cut down on waste. It also guides you on how to make smarter choices as a consumer to help preserve the planet for generations to come. * Figure out what common materials can and can't be recycled * Understand what the recycling symbols are telling you * Explore the many specialist recycling services available * Learn what happens to your recyclables after they get picked up * Become a true recycler by switching to recycled products Check out this book if you want to make your efforts count and be part of the recycling solution.
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Recycling For Dummies®
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2023933120
ISBN 978-1-394-15954-3 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-394-15955-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-394-15956-7 (ebk)
Recycling For Dummies®
To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Recycling For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1: Getting Started with Recycling
Chapter 1: Reviewing the Elements of Recycling
Understanding the Recycling Cycle
Making the Case for Recycling
Getting Started with Recycling
Chapter 2: Getting to Know Your Waste
Defining “Waste”
Exploring the Types of Waste
Seeing What Happens to Waste
Applying the Waste Hierarchy
Chapter 3: Understanding the Problem with Waste
What a Waste
The Environmental Costs of Too Much Waste
The Social Costs of Too Much Waste
Our Plastic Planet
The Impact of Waste on Climate Change
Chapter 4: Making Sense of Recycling
Figuring Out What It Means to Recycle
Discovering the Different Recycling Services
Diving Deeper into Curbside Recycling
Exploring Specialist Recycling
Recognizing Why Some Things Aren’t Recycled
Examining the Cost of Recycling
Part 2: Grasping Curbside Recycling
Chapter 5: Conquering the Basics of Curbside Recycling
Uncovering Why Recycling Rules Vary So Much
Unscrambling Recycling Symbols
Breaking Free from Bad Habits
Checking Out Common Rules
Getting Help When You Need It
Chapter 6: Deciphering Curbside Plastic Recycling
Beginning with the Basics: What Is Plastic?
Understanding Why You Should Recycle Plastic
Seeing How Plastic Is Recycled
Figuring Out Why All Plastics Can’t Be Recycled
Knowing What Plastic Items Can and Can’t Be Recycled
Reducing Your Consumption of Plastic with Single-Use Swaps
Making an Impact with Plastic Items at the Checkout
Chapter 7: Mastering Paper and Cardboard Recycling
Beginning with the Basics: What Is Paper?
Understanding Why You Should Recycle Paper
Seeing How Paper Is Recycled
Knowing What Paper Products Can and Can’t Be Recycled
Reducing Your Consumption of Paper
Making an Impact on Your Paper Use at the Checkout
Chapter 8: Recognizing Recyclable Glass
Beginning with the Basics: What Is Glass?
Understanding Why You Should Recycle Glass
Seeing How Glass Is Recycled
Knowing What Glass Items Can and Can’t Be Recycled
Looking at Specialist Glass Recycling
Reducing Your Consumption of Glass
Making an Impact with Glass Items at the Checkout
Chapter 9: Identifying Metals and Where to Recycle Them
Beginning with the Basics: What Are Metals?
Understanding Why You Should Recycle Metals
Looking at How Metal Is Recycled
Knowing What Metal Items Can and Can’t Be Recycled
Surveying Specialist Metal Recycling Services
Reducing Your Consumption of Metals
Chapter 10: Making Sense of Multilayer Materials
Breaking Down Multilayer Materials
Recycling Common Multilayer Materials
Part 3: Finding Solutions in Specialist Recycling
Chapter 11: Starting with Soft Plastics
Defining Soft Plastics
Understanding the Benefits of Recycling Soft Plastics
Seeing How Soft Plastics Are Recycled
Knowing Which Soft Plastics Can and Can’t Be Recycled
Using Less Soft Plastic
Purchasing Recycled Soft Plastic Products
Chapter 12: Composting to Reduce Food Waste
Defining Food Waste
Knowing Why You Should Care About Food Waste
Clearing Up Confusion Over Labeling
Reducing Your Food Waste
Recycling Your Food Waste
Starting a Home Compost
Chapter 13: Exploring E-Waste Recycling Solutions
Defining E-Waste
Tackling the E-Waste Problem
Exploring How E-Waste Is Recycled
Responsibly Disposing of Your E-Waste
Examining Battery Recycling
Reducing Your Overall E-Waste Impact
Chapter 14: Scouting Other Recycling Programs
Scrapping Your Household Metal Items
Safely Disposing of Hazardous Waste
Recycling Light Bulbs and String Lights
Ensuring That Your Car Tires Get Recycled
Recycling Other Stuff in and Around Your House
Part 4: Knowing That Recycling Won’t Save the Planet on Its Own
Chapter 15: Changing Our Behaviors for the Sake of Future Generations
Reducing How Much You Consume
Keeping Materials in Use
Giving Zero Waste a Go
Recognizing That Recycling Starts at the Store
Maintaining Your Efforts for the Long Haul
Chapter 16: Buying Recycled: Supporting Brands Turning Trash into Treasure
Voting with Your Wallet
Knowing That Recycled Is Just as Good
Finding Recycled Products
Seeking Out Good Brands
Sending a Message in Other Ways
Chapter 17: Highlighting Other Ways to Get Involved
Stepping Up Your Personal Efforts
Taking Action Beyond the Curb
Chapter 18: Considering the Future of Recycling
Redesigning Products for Recyclability
Transforming the Recycling Process
Driving Change Through Policy
Working Together to Achieve a Truly Circular Economy
Part 5: The Part of Tens
Chapter 19: Ten Recycling Myths Debunked
Recycling Is a Scam, and Nothing Gets Recycled Anyway
Recycling Is Too Complicated
If You Throw It in Your Curbside Recycling Bin, It’ll Get Recycled
Curbside Is the Only Recycling Option
If There’s a Recycling Symbol, It Must Be Recyclable
Materials Can Be Recycled Only Once
It Takes More Energy to Recycle Than to Make Something New
Waste Decomposes Quickly in a Landfill
You Should Bag Recyclables
Products Made from Recycled Content Are Inferior
Chapter 20: Ten Things You Thought You Couldn’t Recycle but Can
Batteries
Your Mobile Phone
Ink Cartridges
Chewing Gum
Toothpaste Tubes
Coffee Pods
Sneakers
Wet Suits
Stockings and Pantyhose
Skis, Poles, and Boots
Chapter 21: Ten Things That Don’t Belong in Your Curbside Recycling Bin
Biodegradable and Compostable Plastics
Polystyrene Foam
Dirty or Wet Cardboard
Paper Towels and Tissues
Broken Glass
Soft Plastics
Food Waste
Electronic Devices
Clothes and Textiles
Light Bulbs
Appendix: Waste Audit Worksheets
Index
About the Author
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 2
TABLE 2-1 The Categories of Waste People Generate
Chapter 4
TABLE 4-1 A Sampling of Specialist Recycling Services
Chapter 5
TABLE 5-1 Websites to Help You Locate Your Local Town or City’s Recycling Inform...
TABLE 5-2 Phone Apps to Help You Get Local Recycling Info
Chapter 6
TABLE 6-1 The Plastic Resin Identification Codes and Their Meanings
TABLE 6-2 What Items Typically Go in Your Curbside Bin: Food and Beverage Plasti...
TABLE 6-3 What Items Typically Go in Your Curbside Bin: Nonfood Plastic Bottles,...
TABLE 6-4 What Plastic Items Stay Out of Your Curbside Bin
TABLE 6-5 What Plastic Items to Check with Your Local City or Town
TABLE 6-6 Single-Use Plastic Swaps
Chapter 7
TABLE 7-1 What Paper Items Go in Your Curbside Bin
TABLE 7-2 What Paper Items Stay Out of Your Curbside Bin
TABLE 7-3 What Paper Items to Check with Your Local City or Town
Chapter 8
TABLE 8-1 What Glass Items Go in Your Curbside Bin
TABLE 8-2 What Glass Items Stay Out of Your Curbside Bin
TABLE 8-3 What Glass Items to Check with Your Local City or Town
Chapter 9
TABLE 9-1 Examples of Ferrous and Nonferrous Metals
TABLE 9-2 What Metals Items Go in Your Curbside Bin
TABLE 9-3 What Metal Items Stay Out of Your Curbside Bin
TABLE 9-4 What Metal Items to Check with Your Local City or Town
Chapter 11
TABLE 11-1 Soft Plastic Recycling Facilities by Country
Chapter 12
TABLE 12-1 What Goes in Your Compost: Brown versus Green
Chapter 13
TABLE 13-1 E-Waste Items by Category
TABLE 13-2 E-waste Recycling Locations by Country
TABLE 13-3 Battery Recycling Locations by Country
Chapter 16
TABLE 16-1 A Sampling of Products with Recycled Content
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: You get much further when you take small steps.
Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: The average percentage by weight of the different types of waste fo...
FIGURE 2-2: The waste hierarchy framework for waste minimization.
Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Life cycle analysis — understanding the inputs and outputs through ...
FIGURE 3-2: Plastic waste floating in the ocean.
FIGURE 3-3: Animals caught in our plastic waste. (a) A cockatoo with plastic po...
FIGURE 3-4: Images of wildlife affected by waste. (a) A fur seal with a soda ca...
FIGURE 3-5: A juvenile green sea turtle (a) entangled in a fishing line was als...
FIGURE 3-6: A total of 898 pieces of plastic, many of which were microplastics,...
FIGURE 3-7: The path of microplastics from litter to our plates.
FIGURE 3-8: Top ten list of litter based on cleanup data from Ocean Conservancy...
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: Single-stream versus multi-stream recycling.
FIGURE 4-2: The typical sorting process that takes place inside an MRF.
FIGURE 4-3: Workers manually sorting waste at a material recovery facility.
FIGURE 4-4: A rotating screen is used at the material recovery facility to sepa...
FIGURE 4-5: Bales of recycled metal cans and plastic bottles ready to be sent t...
FIGURE 4-6: An illustration of the push-pull effect making the job easier when ...
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: Variations of the universal recycling symbol, the Mobius loop, or c...
FIGURE 5-2: The inverted Mobius symbol represents recycled content.
FIGURE 5-3: The Tidyman symbol.
FIGURE 5-4: The Green Dot symbol.
FIGURE 5-5: The Plastic Resin Identification Codes.
FIGURE 5-6: Understanding the How2Recycle standardized labeling system.
FIGURE 5-7: Examples of the On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL).
FIGURE 5-8: Understanding the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL).
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6-1: The linear plastic-making process.
FIGURE 6-2: The plastic recycling process.
FIGURE 6-3: A quick guide to plastic resin codes and what can and cannot be rec...
FIGURE 6-4: Plastic recycling worksheet.
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7-1: The linear papermaking process.
FIGURE 7-2: The paper recycling process.
FIGURE 7-3: Use this worksheet to help understand what’s accepted in your curbs...
Chapter 8
FIGURE 8-1: The linear glassmaking process.
FIGURE 8-2: The glass recycling process.
FIGURE 8-3: Use this worksheet to summarize the glass recycling rules for your ...
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9-1: The linear steps for extracting and processing metals from ore.
FIGURE 9-2: The metal recycling process.
FIGURE 9-3: Metal recycling worksheet.
Chapter 11
FIGURE 11-1: A Kent County Department of Public Works employee cleaning plastic...
FIGURE 11-2: How to do the scrunch test to identify soft plastics.
FIGURE 11-3: A quick guide for recycling soft plastics.
Chapter 12
FIGURE 12-1: Reduce spoilage by storing your food in the right place in your fr...
FIGURE 12-2: A checklist of ways to reduce your food waste.
FIGURE 12-3: Use 50 percent browns and 50 percent greens to maintain a healthy ...
Chapter 13
FIGURE 13-1: Close-up of immigrant workers cooking circuit boards to remove the...
FIGURE 13-2: Reverse manufacturing e-waste at a factory.
FIGURE 13-3: How to decide whether to buy a new electronic device.
Chapter 16
FIGURE 16-1: Example of symbols showing that a product has recycled content.
Chapter 17
FIGURE 17-1: An example of how to fill in the Waste Tracker worksheet.
FIGURE 17-2: Using the Waste Actions worksheet to set your goals.
Guide
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Appendix: Waste Audit Worksheets
Index
About the Author
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Introduction
Recycling is one of the most accessible environmental actions you can take that will have an immediate and positive outcome. It also plays a vital role in waste management and addressing the distressing impacts of waste on our planet. It’s not just about recycling that piece of plastic you hold in your hand; it’s about protecting our wildlife, cleaning up our planet, and reducing pollution and climate change impacts.
The issue is that we create too much waste, and we’re struggling to get control of it. We currently produce 2 billion tons of waste worldwide annually, and that number is growing. Seeing the impact this waste has on our environment, our precious wildlife, and the climate is enough to get your attention. Recycling is a great way to address these issues, but sadly, as I write this book, worldwide recycling rates are still very pitiful. The average recycling rate worldwide sits at around 30 percent. Although the rate varies depending on the material, for plastics — the most harmful — it can be as low as 9 percent. Let’s see if we can fix that.
About This Book
Welcome to Recycling For Dummies. This hands-on guide is full of practical information and advice to help you figure out what goes in your recycling bin and how to develop better recycling habits. Plus, this book goes beyond helping you know what to recycle and explains why you should recycle, giving you an appreciation of the energy and resources invested in making products so you can realize their value and prevent them from wasting away in landfills.
You’ll get an understanding of how the recycling industry operates and discover ways you can help support it. That means focusing our efforts on reducing contamination, saving recyclables from landfills, and buying back our recycling. The ultimate goal is to build a sustainable recycling industry where recyclables are collected and turned into new products.
First, I’ve broken recycling into two main groups: curbside and specialist recycling. Curbside covers paper, plastic, glass, and metal packaging, materials often picked up at your curbside. But whether or not you have access to a curbside service, the information you find in these chapters will be helpful.
Next, to help you wrap your head around how to recycle, I’ve broken down the recycling rules into three categories: what you can recycle, what you can’t, and what you need to check. Rules across states and countries vary depending on the availability of services, so you’ll need to do a little homework and check guidelines in your local area. To assist, I’ve provided some easy-to-use worksheets for these main recyclables.
Specialist recycling covers all the other services available for things like e-waste, food waste, or more specialist items like mattresses or batteries. Many of these have drop-off locations and mail-in options, or can be taken to your nearest recycling center or transfer station.
This book is full of actionable content that enables you to become the best recycler you can be and play your part in solving our waste crisis. And with a focus on the waste hierarchy, you’ll also get plenty of tips and tricks to help you reduce your waste, look after what you have, reuse and repurpose what you no longer need, and generally lighten your impact.
A quick note: Sidebars (shaded boxes of text) dig into the details of a given topic, but they aren’t crucial to understanding it. Feel free to read them or skip them. You can pass over the text accompanied by the Technical Stuff icon, too. The text marked with this icon gives some interesting but nonessential information about recycling.
One last thing: Within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you’ve got it easy — just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.
Foolish Assumptions
Here are some assumptions about you, dear reader, and why you’re picking up this book:
You’re concerned about the impact our waste is having on the environment and want to do more.
You want to feel like you’re contributing to a better world for future generations.
You don’t have time to search through all the information available on how to recycle and are looking for a single, comprehensive reference guide to help find the answers you need.
You’re curious about what happens to your recycling after you place it in your bin.
You want to know how to make better decisions at the store and switch to recycled products.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve been recycling for years or if you’re just starting your journey; there is something inside this book for everyone.
Icons Used in This Book
Like all For Dummies books, this book features icons to help you navigate the information. Here’s what they mean.
If you take away anything about recycling from this book, it should be the information marked with this icon.
This icon flags information that delves a little deeper than usual into a particular recycling-related topic.
This icon highlights especially helpful advice about how to improve your recycling habits and applying the principles of “reduce, reuse, and recycle.”
This icon points out situations and actions to avoid when recycling so you don’t unknowingly create contamination, a safety issue at the recycling plant or elsewhere.
Beyond the Book
In addition to the material in the print or e-book you’re reading right now, this product comes with some access-anywhere goodies on the web. Check out the free Cheat Sheet for essential recycling tips and tools, guidelines on how to cut contamination, and ways to reduce how much waste you create. To get this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Recycling For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Where to Go from Here
You don’t have to read this book from cover to cover, but if you’re an especially thorough person, feel free to do so! If you just want to find specific information about recycling and then get back to work, take a look at the table of contents or the index, and then dive into the chapter or section that interests you.
For example, if you simply want to check whether an item can be recycled, you can search for that item and read the appropriate section to find out. But if you want to understand what resources are needed to make it and how the recycling process works, then I recommend you read each chapter in full.
If you’re looking for tips to improve your recycling habits, head straight to Chapter 5. But if you’re pretty comfortable with your local rules, then you might be interested in reading Part 3 to discover more specialist recycling programs. If you’re as eager as I am to find out about all the recycled products available, go directly to Chapter 16.
It’s completely up to you where you start, stop, and return. But no matter where you start, I recommend that you keep this book handy so you can refer to it whenever you have a question. I hope you’ll find the answers to most of your recycling questions in this book and gain enough knowledge and confidence to become a recycling superstar.
P.S. When you’ve finished with this book, please remember to keep it in use as long as possible and pass it on to someone else.
Part 1
Getting Started with Recycling
IN THIS PART …
Discover the essential skills to help you contribute to a successful and thriving recycling industry.
Rummage in your bins to better understand waste and how to manage it.
Realize the damage that too much waste inflicts on our parks and nature reserves, waterways and oceans, the air we breathe, and the animals with which we share the planet.
Explore the recycling processes to discover what happens to our waste and whether it really does get recycled.
Chapter 1
Reviewing the Elements of Recycling
IN THIS CHAPTER
Looking at the cycle of recycling
Explaining the importance of recycling
Figuring out how to get started
According to the World Bank, more than 2 billion tons of municipal solid waste is produced worldwide every year, and this number is expected to grow to 3.4 billion by 2050. Clearly, we have a waste issue that we need to start addressing. I don’t think anyone would disagree with that. Our waste management practices impact the air, land, rivers, oceans, wildlife, and quality of life for both present and future generations. The Earth cannot sustain the amount of trash we create.
Meeting the challenges posed by our waste isn’t simple. But we have to start somewhere, and recycling is a good place. Maybe you’re already an avid recycler, or perhaps you want to get started but don’t know how. Either way, I’m sure you’ll find this book useful, whether you’re digging deeper into why recycling is important, understanding how the recycling industry works, or finding specialist recycling opportunities to complement your curbside recycling.
This chapter gives you a high-level view of why recycling is vital, where it sits in the grand scheme of environmental protection, and your role in ensuring its effectiveness. It gives you a basic understanding of recycling and the key takeaways of being a good recycler. There are many great reasons to recycle, and hopefully some of the tips and examples I provide in this chapter and the rest of this book will show you how you can master it.
Understanding the Recycling Cycle
When we dispose of our waste, there are four possible destinations: recycling, composting, going to a landfill, or going to a waste-to-energy facility. Recycling, the focus of this book, is the process of collecting material and turning it into something new. More often, recycling is associated with local government curbside pickup services. However, that’s not the only type of recycling available. Fortunately, for those who don’t have access to a curbside recycling program, there are recycling centers or drop-off locations available. Plus, there are many other specialist and commercial recycling services that are unrelated to your curbside pickup.
The following are the main steps in the recycling process:
To recycle an item, it must first be collected.
As mentioned earlier, there are two main services for collecting recyclables:
Curbside collection is where recycling gets picked up from your curbside weekly or fortnightly. This service may look different when you live in an apartment complex, but it’s generally the same.
Specialist recycling includes recycling centers, transfer stations, and services where you’re required to drop off your waste at a collection point like an in-store drop-off or sometimes even send it by mail. Fortunately for those without access to curbside recycling, the centers and transfer stations will usually accept the same materials.
Once the waste is collected, it’s usually delivered to a materials recovery facility or a specialist recycling facility.
Items must be sorted and separated into different categories.
Most curbside services use a combination of machines and manual labor to sort the material. For specialist recycling, items are often sorted already and may require minimal sorting.
After sorting, the material is bound up into bales and sold to a reprocessor or manufacturer.
The reprocessor or manufacturer cleans the material to remove remaining contaminants, then uses it in a new product.
Recycling is an effective process for turning waste material into new products; you’ll discover many success stories in this book. Although recycling may seem simple, there are many factors to consider when determining if and how a material is recycled. Not all items bound for recycling actually make it into new products. Sometimes the quality is too low, or there are no manufacturers who want to use it. But by following the rules, we can help increase the likelihood that these materials make it into a new product.
Making the Case for Recycling
We’re using the planet’s resources at an alarming rate with no sign of things slowing down. And we’re using those resources in the most wasteful way possible: extracting minerals, metals, oil, and gas; making them into products that we use for a short time, sometimes only minutes; and then tossing that precious material into a hole in the ground to slowly rot away. These actions endanger the environment, endanger human health, harm wildlife, threaten ecosystems and biodiversity, and jeopardize the planet’s future.
It sounds pretty grim, doesn’t it? The truth is, it actually is pretty terrible when you start digging into the details.
The first step in solving these problems is to become aware of how much harm we’re causing. Then we need to start taking action to lessen our impacts. Reducing our waste is one of the fundamental ways that we can make a difference. And even though the purpose of this book is to show you how to recycle, activities like reducing and reusing are so important and intertwined with recycling that I couldn’t help but include them throughout.
As for recycling, it’s one of the easiest things you can do to help reduce waste. Plus, the benefits go beyond making use of discarded materials. Recycling helps to
Minimize how much material is sent to landfills.
Reduce the risk of environmental damage to ecosystems and animals.
Lower our reliance on raw resources and reduce the negative impacts of extracting them.
Save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Decrease the effects of plastic and other litter on ecosystems.
Supply important raw materials to manufacturers for new products, supporting innovation, boosting the economy, and creating jobs.
Protect the planet for future generations.
It takes only a moment to think: Am I putting this in the right bin? Will it get recycled, or will it cause contamination and result in recyclables being sent to a landfill?
Protecting our parks, oceans, and wildlife
Let’s be straight: One of the main reasons we’re talking about recycling is the devastating impact waste is inflicting on our environment. Our excessive waste issues are impacting every corner of the globe. It’s just not possible for us to continue down this path. We must make some changes and soon.
Some of the ways our waste is harming the environment include these:
Greenhouse gases, toxic chemicals, and other harmful substances are released from landfills.
Plastic is filling our oceans. In fact, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation predicts there will be more plastic in the ocean by weight than fish by 2050.
The animals with whom we share the Earth are getting tangled and caught up in our waste or consuming it unknowingly. This is leading to devastating impacts on individual animals and more widespread issues on ecosystems and biodiversity.
Microplastics have been found in every corner of the planet. They’re present in the air, the ocean, and the soil. They have even been found in the human body (see the next section). We’re yet to understand the irreversible damage of this prevalent pollutant. The sooner we start addressing it, the better.
By recycling, we can reduce this pressure on the environment and minimize the risk of pollution.
Reducing risks to communities
The impacts of waste are often focused on the environment and wildlife, and rightfully so: It’s extremely important. But there are many ways waste and the associated pollution affect humans. More often, these impacts are felt by minority or low-income communities, and many developed nations still export their waste to developing countries where waste management practices aren’t as advanced and communities and the environment aren’t as well protected.
Some of the issues poor waste management can cause include the following:
Pollution can negatively affect people’s livelihoods, like the loss of tourism or reductions in local fish populations disrupting businesses.
The spread of disease from waste practices or emissions of toxic compounds can impact people’s health and the health of communities.
The value of land in areas with poor waste management or pollution can drop.
One of the more concerning issues is that of microplastics, those tiny pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) long. They’ve already been discovered in human lungs, blood, and even breast milk. Estimates suggest that we could consume up to 100,000 pieces every year. These particles enter the human body through the food and water we consume or even through the air we breathe. At this point, research is ongoing to help us truly understand the full impact on humans. Find out more about this and other environmental issues in Chapter 3.
Minimizing our carbon footprint
Increasingly people are thinking about how to live more sustainably to reduce their carbon footprint. Most people are unaware of how recycling and waste reduction can help combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Energy savings are one of the reasons recycling is so good for the environment. But we can also reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and stop trees from being harvested.
A great deal of energy is lost in the current linear model where we take from the planet, make products, and then toss them away once we’re finished with them. Recycling aims to preserve some of this energy by keeping materials in use and reducing our reliance on new resources.
The positive benefits of recycling on climate change are as follows:
It reduces our reliance on fossil fuels. For example, recycling one ton of plastic can save up to 16.3 barrels of oil.
It saves trees from being harvested. Recycling one ton of paper can save 17 trees from being cut down. This has the added benefit of increasing carbon storage.
Minimizing the amount of material that ends up in landfills decreases the production of greenhouse gases and the risk of them escaping into the atmosphere.
Reducing your food waste and keeping it out of landfills is one of the easiest things you can do to help tackle climate change. Discover ways to reduce your food waste in Chapter 12.
It lowers energy use by keeping materials in use for longer. By replacing raw materials with recycled content, manufacturers can cut the amount of energy required to make products. Here are some great examples of how recycling can result in energy savings:
Recycling one glass jar can save enough electricity to light an 11-watt compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb for 20 hours.
Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough power to run your TV for three hours.
Recycling a plastic bottle can save two-thirds of the energy required to make a new plastic bottle.
Recycling can help slow down climate change, but reduction and reuse concepts can go a step further in minimizing our carbon footprint. Find more on this topic in Chapter 3.
Securing the future for our children
Recycling helps us conserve energy and resources so that we can leave some behind for our kids and our kids’ kids. Recycling isn’t just about turning the glass jar or the plastic water bottle into something new. It’s about preserving the basic materials required to make a new jar or bottle and using the recycled material in its place. It’s sometimes easy to forget that the planet has only a finite amount of resources.
Recycling lowers our reliance on raw resources, reducing the impacts associated with mining minerals or fossil fuels, processing them, and manufacturing them. Impacts include ecosystem disruption, deforestation, biodiversity loss, water and soil pollution, and the release of greenhouse gases. It also keeps materials that have already been extracted in use instead of them rotting away in landfills or incinerating them. The more we recycle today, the more these raw resources will be available in the future.
CONSIDERING THE BIGGER PICTURE
Recycling is only one aspect of waste management, not a stand-alone activity. It plays a crucial role in the waste hierarchy, a framework for waste management practices that helps minimize environmental and human health impacts. The waste hierarchy is the source of the well-known phrase “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” It’s presented as an inverted pyramid with reduce at the very top, illustrating that this should be where we place most of our efforts. Next down is reuse and then recycle. The last item on the pyramid is to send materials to a landfill. This is the least favorable outcome and should be avoided as much as possible. Find out more about the waste hierarchy and its application in Chapter 2.
Recycling also plays a crucial role in a circular economy. In contrast to the existing linear economy, where items are manufactured, consumed, and thrown away, a circular economy is built on keeping resources in use by reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling them. Recycling helps bring the two ends of a linear economy together to create a circle where your waste can rejoin the process, keeping the materials in use for longer.
Getting Started with Recycling
Taking an extra moment to ensure you’re putting the right thing into your recycling bin makes a huge difference in the effectiveness of recycling. Many resources are at your disposal, but familiarizing yourself with your local rules is one of the most crucial first steps. Throughout this book, I’ll help you find other resources and make sense of what is sometimes conflicting information.
The easiest approach to getting started is to set small achievable goals and accept that you and the recycling system aren’t always perfect.
Appreciating your role in the solution
Teamwork is the key to building a resilient recycling industry. Everybody has a part to play, including brand owners and manufacturers, retailers, recyclers, governments, and, of course, people like you and me.
As consumers, you and I can help change how we buy, use, and discard products, and in doing so, we can be a part of the recycling success story. We can
Know the recycling rules and stick to them.
Unlearn poor recycling habits.
Recognize the importance of preventing contamination.
Work to reduce our waste overall.
Choose to buy recyclable products over ones that can’t be recycled.
Support products made with recycled content.
Knowing how to get started
It can sometimes be hard to know where or how to get started. All the information can seem a bit daunting. Here are some tips to help you succeed.
Taking small steps
We’ve all been there; whether it’s getting fit, learning a new skill, or some other goal, you give it everything you have and set really high goals for yourself, only to give up after a short time. Recycling is just like any of these tasks. If we set goals that are too demanding, we may give up on them after only a short time. Figure 1-1 illustrates this concept. The person on the right struggles to reach the first step because it’s too big, but on the left, the steps are smaller, so the person has almost reached the top.
© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
FIGURE 1-1: You get much further when you take small steps.
Breaking your recycling goals into smaller steps can
Make it easier to give things a go.
Give you less to focus on at one time.
Make it less likely you’ll be overwhelmed and more likely you’ll succeed.
Small steps add up. Initially, you might feel like you are not making much of a difference but believe me, it won’t be long, and you’ll be looking back at all the changes you’ve made. Once you’ve mastered each small change, you will feel ready for the next one.
Choose one type of material to work on first. Start with curbside recycling of paper, for example. Then start by reading the relevant chapter, Chapter 7. Use the worksheet provided to check your local recycling rules and place it near your bin. Whenever you have a paper or cardboard product to recycle, check the worksheet or head back to the chapter to see whether it’s recyclable. Then keep doing that for a few weeks. Once you feel comfortable that you know that material well enough, move on to the next one, like plastic or metal.
Don’t be afraid if you mess up. Just keep trying and do what you can. Every bit helps. And keep in mind that not everyone has access to the same resources and recycling services, so try not to compare yourself to others.
Accepting that things aren’t perfect
Throughout this book, I explain the recycling process in detail. Since you probably haven’t read the whole book yet, let me explain one of the problems: Recycling is a complex process with many working parts, from all the different groups involved to the complex mix of materials that must be sorted and processed. Plus, things are constantly changing and developing.
Don’t be discouraged from recycling when you hear that one type of material doesn’t necessarily get recycled. There may be a good reason why it’s not, like there is too much contamination, it’s too expensive to process, or there is no market for the material. It may also be a rogue company; they exist in every industry, but remember the phrase “don’t paint everyone with the same brush.” Many hardworking people in the recycling industry are trying to make things work. It’s good to focus on doing what we can do through reducing and reusing, recycling right, keeping contamination low, and buying recycled products.
Uncovering the life cycle of everyday items
Throughout this book, you’ll see many instances where instead of discussing what goes in the recycling bin, I explain what materials and resources go into making items and what their environmental impacts are. You might wonder what this has to do with recycling. One of the most important changes we need to make is to start appreciating the inherent value of items around us and to understand the environmental impacts to date.
Every item we own or use is made using energy and resources. It’s not just at its end of life that a product has an impact. For example, to make a plastic water bottle, first oil must be extracted from the Earth, processed at a refinery, and then converted into plastic pellets. These are transported to a manufacturer, molded into plastic bottles, then filled with product, packaged, and transported to a retail store. Finally, a consumer like you or me purchases it, drinks the contents, and tosses it away. All these steps require energy and resources and also cause damage to the environment.
We need to start considering these impacts not only when figuring out how to dispose of an item but earlier when deciding whether to buy something. Plus, when recognizing their value, we can better understand the importance of recycling them and keeping the materials in use.
A great way to do this is to apply life cycle analysis, which is a way to quantify the environmental impacts associated with a product’s entire lifecycle from creation to disposal. Chapter 3 provides further information on this process and how recycling can lessen the effects.
Recognizing recyclable materials
Key to the success of recycling is collecting the right stuff. For us, this means putting the correct things into our curbside recycling bins or the bins at a drop-off center. It seems easy but can become overwhelming with all the different types of packaging materials we encounter daily.
Here are some tips to help get you started on identifying recyclables from nonrecyclables:
Starting from the beginning:
Reminding yourself what belongs in your curbside container is a fantastic approach to improving your recycling. Generally, curbside recycling is limited to paper and cardboard, glass, plastic, and metals. Did you know it’s also limited to packaging material? For example, a glass vase, metal coat hanger, or plastic toy typically doesn’t belong in a curbside recycling bin. You can find more tips on what doesn’t belong throughout
Chapters 6
to
9
.
Recycling labels and guides:
A number of countries are revamping the recycling information provided on packaging, and where available, these can make things much easier. Head over to
Chapter 5
to get familiar with these new labels and how they can help.
Plastic by numbers:
The plastic number system (see
Chapter 6
) is a handy tool for working out which type of plastic an item is made from. You can then match that to the types of plastic your local area accepts.
Recycling check sheets:
Throughout this book, I provide a number of worksheets to help you navigate the rules on recycling. I encourage you to keep a copy of these worksheets near your bins to make checking what can and can’t go in much easier. A good place to start is
Chapters 6
to
9
.
If you’re unsure if you can recycle an item, sometimes it’s better to put it into the general waste bin instead of putting it into your recycling bin in the hope it will get recycled.
Throughout this book, I’ve broken items into three groups:
Things you can recycle no matter where you live
Things you can’t recycle in any curbside service
And the things you should check to see what the rules say for your local area
Recycling rules differ depending on where you live, so it would be impossible for me to list every specific rule for every local area in every country. I hope that by listing the rules this way, I’ve made it simpler for you to work out what can and cannot be recycled where you live.
Despite that, one of the most important things to do is check your local town or city government’s rules. In fact, I recommend that you recheck them from time to time. Recycling is constantly changing as technology advances or markets change, so it’s good to stay abreast of any updates.
Keeping contamination low
One of the most important things that will help improve recycling is to reduce contamination. When incorrect items are placed in recycling bins, they can lead to issues at the recycling plants and can result in a lot of recycling being sent to landfills. You can minimize contamination by
Getting to know what is and isn’t accepted in your local curbside or other services
Following the rules when you’re asked to separate materials before collection
Avoiding wishcycling (see
Chapter 5
) — when you’re unsure whether something can be recycled but you place it in the recycling bin anyway
Keeping food waste out of your recycling bin
Emptying leftover liquids or foods from bottles and containers and giving them a quick rinse
Your efforts will be rewarded with clean recyclables that are more likely to get made into new products.
Finding specialist recyclers
The recycling sector is expanding, and many entrepreneurs are making great efforts to find solutions to our waste issues. In addition to curbside recycling services or drop-off locations for typical packaging like paper, plastic, glass, and metal, there are many additional services for items you may want to throw away. I encourage you to seek these out and take advantage of them if you can.
Some of the most common specialist recycling services available include food waste or composting, e-waste, soft plastics, and batteries. These materials contribute to today’s rising waste issues and the resulting environmental harm. Yet solutions are available to help you minimize your impact and recycle them. You can discover more about these and many other exciting programs in Part 3.
Buying back your waste
Recycling must come full circle in order to be successful. This means that the materials we toss in our recycling bin must be reprocessed into brand-new products that are purchased, used, and, ideally, recycled again. That’s when recycling is most effective and has the biggest impact.
Buying products with recycled content also decreases our reliance on fossil fuel and metal extraction, cuts water usage, lowers the number of trees harvested, and saves energy, reducing our carbon impact. Finally, it keeps the material from wasting away in a landfill.
There are too many recycled products to list here, but you can find a long list of examples in Chapter 16. Items range from sportswear to kitchen utensils to consumables. In the past, recycled goods were frequently considered to be of low quality or overly expensive. But nowadays, it’s not only difficult to see any physical difference, but quality and price are comparable.
If you’re serious about recycling, it’s time to rethink your purchasing habits and buy recycled. Who knows, you might even be using some already.
Chapter 2
Getting to Know Your Waste
IN THIS CHAPTER
Understanding the meaning of “waste”
Getting to know the different waste types
Breaking down what happens to waste
Grasping the waste hierarchy
There’s no doubt that we continue to produce a staggering amount of rubbish. For most of us, tossing our rubbish into a bin is second nature. You put the trash in your garbage bin or recycling bin and take it out to your curb or drop it off at a center, then someone comes along and takes it away. But have you ever stopped to wonder what happens to all that waste you create?
In this chapter, I start at the beginning and help you understand what waste is and how much you create before taking a closer look at what’s inside your bin. After outlining the available waste treatment options, I explain how applying the waste hierarchy can improve how we manage our waste.
Defining “Waste”
Every individual and business generates waste, except for those amazing “zero wasters” that we aspire to be more like. In this book, I focus on what’s referred to as municipal solid waste, which is the waste you and I generate in our households, schools, and small businesses. Other waste categories, such as industrial, agricultural, construction, mining, and medical waste, are outside the scope of this book.
We use the word “waste” in many ways, so to be clear, in this book I’m referring to unwanted and no longer useful material. However, there’s still a problem with this definition. Something defined as no longer useful to one person may still be very useful to someone else, like the old saying “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” Anytime I refer to “waste” in this book, I want you to think “resource” instead.
The best philosophy is to consider that everything you no longer want has value, treat your waste with respect, and remember how much energy and resources went into creating the item. Try to make a mental effort to stop throwing away the things you don’t want and instead put them where they will do some good and be used again and again.
Exploring the Types of Waste
You generate many types of waste in your home, from everyday items like food scraps and product packaging to more irregular household items like appliances or furniture. It might include hazardous items, recyclable items, compostable items, or items that currently have no other option but to be sent to a landfill.
It makes sense to group the waste we produce into categories that match their next stage of life. In Table 2-1, I list the major groups of waste we regularly produce in our homes: organic waste, recyclable materials, other household waste, and hazardous waste.
You may be shocked that according to the World Bank, an average person living in a high-income country discards about 3.5 pounds (1.6 kilograms) of garbage every day. This equates to almost 1,300 pounds per person per year.
The same report reveals that, despite having access to advanced waste services, developed countries such as the United States and Canada are among the top waste-producing nations in the world. In fact, Americans are the worst offenders, producing almost 4.9 pounds (2.2 kilograms) per day; that’s almost 2,000 pounds of trash per year per person.
So what are we throwing away? Undoubtedly you glance inside whenever you drop something in there, but have you ever taken the time to examine what’s inside? Figure 2-1 illustrates what you’ll find in the average bin across developed nations.
TABLE 2-1 The Categories of Waste People Generate
Organic Waste
Recyclable Materials (Curbside)
Food scraps
Yard trimmings or garden waste
Glass bottles and jars
Aluminum or steel cans
Plastic bottles and containers
Cardboard and paper
Other Household Waste
Hazardous Waste
Soft plastics
Furniture
Toys
Textiles
Other household items
Paints, paint removers, stains, and finishes
Glues and adhesives
Cleaning chemicals
Herbicides and insecticides
Batteries
Electronic waste
© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
FIGURE 2-1: The average percentage by weight of the different types of waste found in your bin.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these categories.
Recyclable waste (including paper, glass, plastic, and metal):
Recyclables make up 43 percent of what goes in our bins. Much of it is paper and paperboard, around 20 percent, one of the easiest materials to recycle. About 10 percent is plastics, mostly plastic packaging from our daily food shopping. The remaining is half glass, half metal, again generally food packaging but may include other metals and glassware. A sizable chunk of this 43 percent should be reasonably easy to recycle, depending on where you live. Hopefully you’re already putting it into your recycling bin or taking it to a recycling center.
Food and organics: Based on weight, about 41 percent of the contents of our bins is made up of organic matter. This is great news because there is a lot we can do with organics instead of landfilling them. Food scraps and other discarded food items make up more than 20 to 30 percent of the waste we generate. And by taking action, you can reduce how much you create. Head to Chapter 12 to find out more.
The remaining amount is yard trimmings, garden waste, and materials like pet waste. If you have access to a garden organics bin or yard waste collection service, that is a way to take care of most of this material. Otherwise, you can compost some of it along with your food waste if you have a home compost.
Other:
The final 16 percent of our bins contains other items like textiles, e-waste (electronic waste items that have a cord or battery), rubber and leather products, wood, or hazardous waste. Specialist recycling services are available for many of these items so you can keep them out of landfills. Head to
Part 3
to find all the options for specialist recyclers.
After you’re more aware of what’s in your trash can, the next step is to find ways to ensure your garbage is dealt with responsibly and has the least impact. You may want to do a waste audit of your bins to uncover more about the waste you produce. I explain how to run an audit in Chapter 17. When you’ve finished, you can use what you discovered to create a plan of attack to reduce your waste. Otherwise, if you want to jump straight into recycling, you can head to Parts 2 and 3 to get all the info on recycling your waste.
Seeing What Happens to Waste
We diligently place items into our different bins, put them on the curb at the scheduled time for emptying, or take them to designated drop-off centers. But what happens after that can seem a bit of a mystery. The primary purpose of waste management across the globe is to reduce the impact of waste on humans and the environment. And depending on the type of waste and the facilities nearby, the waste we produce can head in a few different directions. These include
Recycling facilities
Composting facilities
Incineration plants or waste-to-energy plants
Landfills
Unfortunately, waste can also end up littering the environment, but that is not the intended outcome.
