We are lagging behind other European countries, such as Sweden and Germany, where the overall recycling rate is 90%. According to a report released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2019, the British rate is 45.7%.
Despite it being crucial to our planet's future health, people are still not participating in enough recycling. So, what are the environmental benefits and why you should be doing your bit to save our planet?
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Conserving natural resources
- Save trees and forests by recycling paper. Although new trees can be planted, we can't replace virgin rainforests or ancient woodland once they've been destroyed.
- Recycling plastics means less new plastic will be created, conserving the fossil fuel hydrocarbons that are used in the manufacturing process for new plastic.
- Metal recycling will reduce the need to carry out damaging and expensive mining and extraction works to extract new metal ores.
- Recycling glass means we won't need to use new raw materials, such as sand, to make new glass. Sand is used all over the world to make glass and although it sounds incredible, studies show the amount of sand, in general, is gradually reducing.
Protecting wildlife
When we extract raw materials from the earth, whether we're planting and growing crops, cutting down trees, or mining materials from underground, we're adversely affecting wildlife, and this causes disruption in the natural world.
Animals' habitats are being destroyed, leading to a decline in population: human activity has been destroying natural habitats for centuries. Today, most of the UK countryside consists of fields of grass for livestock, or cereal crops for people.
Around 1,000 years ago, Britain's countryside would have been very different. Most of it was covered with forests and woodland containing trees such as ash, oak and beech. This provided a haven for wildlife. Today, there are only relatively small patches of woodland dotted across Britain. One of the largest is the New Forest, in Hampshire.
Many of our native mammals, fish and birds have died out through a combination of hunting and their natural habitats being destroyed. These include lynx, wolves, reindeer, boar, moose and beavers. Today, our butterfly species are under threat, with many classified as "rare", because we continue to encroach upon their habitat.
By recycling, we will be using less of the planet's natural resources, so the remaining wildlife won't be displaced or harmed.
Recycling plastic
Single-use plastic is a big source of pollution. When we don't put plastic waste such as bottles, food wrappers, straws, cutlery, plates and packing materials in the recycling bin, it can end up on landfill sites, or is often washed into rivers and the sea.
Polluting beaches and the coastline, it then becomes a big problem for marine life, as sea creatures including fish and birds ingest plastic waste and become sick, or get tangled up, which can prove fatal.
By recycling plastic, we can stop the harm it is causing in our oceans.
Saving energy
Recycling products uses less energy than making new from raw materials. When you produce aluminium from recycled products, such as cans and foil, the process uses 95% less energy than starting from scratch. Making recycled steel uses 70% less energy than making new steel.
Producing paper from recycled pulp uses 40% less energy - not to mention the trees it is saving! Energy saved from recycling just one glass bottle would power a 100-watt light bulb for four hours and a low-energy LED bulb for much longer.
Carbon emissions
Recycling reduces dangerous carbon emissions that are changing the climate. Recycling uses less energy than sourcing and processing new raw materials, resulting in lower carbon emissions, while keeping more methane-releasing waste out of landfill sites.
Trying to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases creeping into the earth's atmosphere is the key to slowing down climate change.
Costs of recycling
The costs of recycling materials compare favourably with landfill costs. Studies have shown recycling costs considerably less than waste collection and disposal. In 2017, research by Lambeth Council revealed it was six times cheaper to dispose of waste to be recycled than it was to dump general refuse in landfill sites.
The study concluded that the more people recycled, the less rubbish they would put in the bin, so the more money would be saved. This extra money would be beneficial for public services, businesses and households.
When you recycle food waste and green waste, this is also beneficial, as it can create compost that will help more food and other crops to grow successfully.
Growing economy
Recycling can play a major role in creating jobs and growing the economy. A recent report claimed at least 50,000 new jobs could be created by 2025, if we were able to reach the target of recycling 70% of our waste in the UK.
As the current recycling rate is only 45%, we still have some way to go, but environmental charity Friends of the Earth says it's still achievable if we remember the "three Rs" - reduce, reuse and recycle.
Effects of coronavirus
Like every other industry, recycling is currently feeling the effects of the coronavirus epidemic and subsequent lockdown in the UK. Many local authorities across the nation have had to temporarily suspend the majority of their green waste recycling services and have even had to close tips to stop the spread of the virus.
The UK's major waste disposal and recycling companies issued a joint statement on 27th March, based on current government advice, to update people on how to dispose of their waste. They say for the time-being, householders should put all their waste in the general rubbish bin. It should be double-bagged in securely-tied bin-bags.
The statement adds that general rubbish must be prioritised for hygiene reasons, so garden and bulky waste services are being temporarily suspended, leading to the "disruption" of recycling services as an "unavoidable last resort". However, the waste disposal firms are urging people not to allow this temporary setback to "break our national recycling habit in the long term”.
When the situation gets back to normal, give your recycling activities a boost by using Solent Plastics' range of recycling storage and plastic waste bins. Give us a call on 01794 514478 for details.
Take good care of yourselves!