Recycling

From Lauraibm

Contents

MI Summary

Recycling involves the reprocessing of materials into new products. Recycling tends to be beneficial to the environment in two major ways, it reduces the inputs from energy and raw materials to a production system and it also reduces the amount of waste produced for disposal. The most efficient material to recycle is aluminium as 95% of the energy costs of processing new aluminium can be saved.

However, there are also a few criticisms to recycling, for example collection methods add to vehicle movement and the production of carbon dioxide. For some materials it can be more expensive to recycle than for landfill disposal, this causes some people to move away from recycling such materials.

Text of Article

Recycling is the reprocessing of materials into new products. Recycling generally prevents the waste of potentially useful materials, reduces the consumption of raw materials and reduces energy usage, and hence greenhouse gas emissions, compared to virgin production.[1] Recycling is a key concept of modern waste management and is the third component of the waste hierarchy.

Recyclable materials, also called "recyclables" or "recyclates", may originate from a wide range of sources including the home and industry. They include glass, paper, aluminium, asphalt, iron, textiles and plastics. Biodegradable waste, such as food waste or garden waste, is also recyclable with the assistance of micro-organisms through composting or anaerobic digestion.

Recyclates are sorted and separated into material types. Contamination of the recylates with other materials must be prevented to increase the recyclates' value and facilitate easier reprocessing for the ultimate recycling facility. This sorting can be performed either by the producer of the waste or within semi- or fully-automated materials recovery facilities.

There are two common household methods of recycling. In curbside collection (UK: kerbside collection), consumers leave presorted recyclable materials in front of their property to be collected by a recycling vehicle. With a "bring" or carry-in system, the householder takes the materials to collection points, such as transfer stations or civic amenity sites.

The term recycling does not generally include reuse, in which existing items are used for a new pupose.

Benefits

Recycling is beneficial in two ways: it reduces the inputs (energy and raw materials) to a production system and reduces the amount of waste produced for disposal.

A study conducted by the Technical University of Denmark found that in 80% of cases, recycling is the most efficient method to dispose of household waste.[2]

Some materials like aluminum can be recycled indefinitely as there is no change to the materials. Other recycled materials like paper require a percentage of raw materials (wood fibers) to be added to compensate for the degradation of existing fibers. Recycling aluminium saves 95% of the energy cost of processing new aluminium[2] because the melting temperature is reduced from 900 °C to 600 °C. It is by far the most efficient material to recycle. Recycling plastic saves 70% of the energy used in creating new plastic, and paper recycling saves 40% of the energy required to make a new product.[2]

The resources being processed are purer, less energy is needed to process them and less energy is needed to transport from the place of extraction (e.g. bauxite/aluminium ore mines in Brazil or coniferous forests in Scandinavia).

This reduces the environmental, social, and usually the economic costs of manufacturing.

For example, bauxite mines in Brazil displace indigenous people, create noise pollution from blasting, machinery and transport, and create air pollution in the form of particulates (dust). The habitat loss and visual destruction is also negative both to the aesthetic qualities of the areas and the local environment. However, the mines do provide employment and revenue to the local population and economy, promoting development of the country as a whole.

The most commonly used methods for waste disposal (landfill, pyrolysis, incineration) may be environmentally damaging and unsustainable. Therefore any way to reduce the volume of waste being disposed in this fashion may be beneficial. The maximum environmental benefit is gained by waste minimization (reducing the amount of waste produced), and reusing items in their current form such as refilling bottles.

Drawbacks and criticism

Main article: Recycling criticism All recycling techniques consume energy for transportation and processing and some also use considerable amounts of water, although recycling processes seldom amount to the level of resource use associated with raw materials processing.[3]

There may also be drawbacks with the collection methods associated with recycling. Increasing collections of separated wastes adds to vehicle movements and the production of carbon dioxide. This may be negated however by centralized facilities such as some advanced material recovery facilities and mechanical biological treatment systems for the separation of mixed wastes.

Negative consequences from mercury recycling have been cited by The Wall Street Journal.[4] The article traces mercury recovered from American recycling programs into sales of mercury for alluvial mining activities in Brazil. During the autumn of 2006, the European Union banned the export of liquid mercury, and a life-cycle analysis prior to institution of recycling programs may reduce the risk of unintended environmental consequences.

For some materials, recycling is more expensive than landfill disposal unless externalities are considered.[citation needed] For these products, there is an opportunity cost to recycling. Some argue that the financial costs of recycling some materials outweigh the environmental benefits. Some skeptics also argue that the environmental benefits of recycling do not compensate for the extra effort it may require.[5]

According to an article in The New York Times by John Tierney, government mandated recycling wastes more resources than it saves. Some highlights from the article: [1]

  • In cases where recycling truly does save resources, such as with large scraps of aluminum, this will be reflected in market prices, and voluntary recycling will take place. Thus, there is no need for the government to mandate it.
  • Each year the United States fills up less than 10 square miles of landfill space. Once full, much of that land gets turned into parks.
  • Tree farmers plant more trees than they cut down.
  • Government mandated recycling is more expensive than putting the garbage into landfills, which means that this recycling uses up more resources than it saves.
  • Some small towns with landfills are happy to import garbage from other cities and states because it provides jobs and tax revenue.
  • Today's modern landfills are much cleaner and safer, and much less likley to leak and pollute, than the landfills of the past.

In the Press

Summaries

Full article: Sony offers free recycling across the US (20-Aug-07)

Sony has set up a national recycling initiative in the US, allowing people to recycle all Sony-branded products for free. It is the first national recycling initiative in the US to involve a major electronics manufacturer. The Sony programme will allow individuals to take unwanted Sony products to one of 75 eCycling drop-off centres throughout the US or to select Waste Management Recycle America locations. The programme also allows consumers to recycle other manufacturers' consumer electronics products at "market prices", and may include a recycling fee. The COO of Sony Electronics said that the company expects to reach its goal of recycling 1lb of old consumer electronics equipment for every 1lb of new products sold.

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