Why Recycle

WHY RECYCLE?

Sometimes it seems that wherever you look, and whatever products you buy, everyone is telling you to recycle.  But do we really know what recycling means and, more importantly, why we should do it? Well, here is Recresco's easy guide to the "what's" and "why's" of recycling!

WHAT IS RECYCLING?

‘Recycling' is when you turn an old, used, product into something new by processing the material, or materials, it is made from.

WHY SHOULD WE RECYCLE?

You often hear people saying that recycling is good for the environment, but have you ever thought about how recycling can help?

•  Using raw materials to make products uses more energy than recycling and reusing existing ones. This means that recycling can actually help reduce energy consumption, and in turn carbon emissions.

•  Recycling reduces the amount of rubbish being dumped in landfills and burned in incinerators which can all lead to harmful gases being produced and getting into the atmosphere.

•  Burying plastic, glass and metal in landfills doesn't produce large amounts of gas. However, by doing so we are throwing away resources that are non-renewable and should be preserved for the future.

As individuals we may not feel that we can do much to help save the environment but even the smallest contribution is valuable to the future of non-renewable materials.

DID YOU KNOW?

The UK's current rate of recycling saves more than 18 million tonnes of CO2 escaping into the atmosphere a year - that's the same amount as taking 5 million cars off of our roads!