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  • Post last modified:November 30, 2023

Recycling Benefits & Facts

We know we should recycle but why? What are the benefits? Why is it important? And what actually happens to our recycling? There’s so much information out there, including lots of stories about recycling actually being shipped off to other countries where it could end up in landfill or in the ocean that some people think recycling isn’t worth it. Here are lots of facts and plenty of information about recycling to hopefully answer any questions you might have.

What is recycling?

Definition of recycling:

“Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. It is an alternative to “conventional” waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling can prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, thereby reducing: energy usage, air pollution (from incineration), and water pollution (from landfilling).” – wikipedia

What can be recycled?

Recyclable materials include:

  • Paper and cardboard
  • Glass
  • Tin, aluminium and steel
  • Fabric
  • Some plastics (see below for list of all potentially recyclable plastics)
  • Electronics
  • Food Waste (raw generally)

What your local council collects for recycling varies from town to town but if you’re determined to keep your waste from going to landfill then there are other things you can do with your waste.

Recycling Symbol

recycling symbol
Mobius Loop

Look for the recycling symbol on the packaging or labels. It can get quite confusing because there are several different recycling symbols that are used. However the majority resemble the 3 arrows in a triangle formation (called the Mobius loop) in some form or another.

Other symbols include the following, which indicate different plastic materials used that can be recycled. This does not mean that your local council will recycle these items though.

recycling symbols plastics

  1. PETE or PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) – Water bottles etc
  2. HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) – Milk jugs, shampoo bottles etc
  3. V or PVC (Vinyl) – Food packaging etc
  4. LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) – Bread bags, clothing etc
  5. PP (Polypropylene) – Yoghurt containers etc
  6. PS (Polystyrene) – Takeaway containers etc
  7. There is a 7 as well which encompasses all other types of plastic including ones with BPA

The ones to try and avoid buying are: 3, 6 and 7 (and ideally 1 which is considered to be safe but is also known to allow bacteria to accumulate). 2, 4 and 5 are the safest plastics for your health and are also the ones that are most likely to be recycled.

Almost all plastics could be recycled but usually aren’t.

25 Ways to Reduce your Plastic Waste

Why is recycling important?

We produce so much waste and most of it ends up in landfill. We have to reduce the amount of rubbish we’re producing and stop wasting valuable resources.

  • The average household in the UK creates over a tonne of waste each year.
  • Every year, the waste we produce increases by about 3%, which means that in 25 years, the amount of waste we produce will have doubled.
  • The average person in the UK throws away their own body weight in rubbish every 7 weeks!
  • Every year, 18 million tonnes of waste is sent to a UK landfill site.
  • Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Germany recycle around 60% of their waste, compared with our rate of around 45%.

– https://www.recyclingbins.co.uk/recycling-facts/

What to do with your rubbish (instead of putting it in the bin)

The Benefits of Recycling

  1. Less waste goes to landfill
  2. Less waste means less incineration, meaning fewer toxic gases being released into the atmosphere
  3. We’re conserving our natural resources
  4. Recycling protects wildlife and people. (Less plastic in the ocean is better for everyone)
  5. Recycling uses less energy
  6. Less energy means less carbon emissions
  7. Recycling is cheaper than collecting and disposing of waste

Facts

  • 1 recycled tin can saves enough energy to power a television for 3 hours.
  • If you recycle everything you can in your bin, you can power a TV for 5000 hours.
  • 1 recycled glass bottle saves enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.
  • 1 recycled plastic bottle saves enough energy to power a light bulb for 3 hours.
  • 70% less energy is needed to recycle paper as opposed to making it from raw materials.
  • It takes 50 times more energy to make a battery than you get from a battery.

Make sure you read more astonishing facts and figures here; Recycling Facts.

The Truth about Recycling

What happens to our recycling?

The majority of it does get recycled in the UK and made into other things. All newspapers are made from recycled paper for example. But some of it, mostly plastic, gets shipped abroad. China used to buy the majority of our plastic waste but now doesn’t. Plastic cannot be recycled indefinitely like aluminium can, and they only wanted 99.5% pure plastic. Other Asian countries then bought some of our waste, but were quickly overwhelmed by the quantity. Although we export most of our plastic waste, it probably ends up in the ocean or in a landfill abroad. The truth is that when our waste is exported we have no real idea of where it ends up.

Of course this only accounts for the waste that actually goes into the recycling bins in the first place. Most of it still goes into ordinary rubbish bags and heads to landfill sites.

Should we bother?

The simple answer is yes. For a start you can give yourself a pat on the back for doing a good thing. Secondly, recycling our waste is an important step to conserve the planets natural resources, but the more important thing to do is to reduce how much waste we produce in the first place. You’re probably familiar with the 3 R’s – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, but are you familiar with the 6 R’s?

Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle, Rot

Refuse – don’t buy products that could harm you or the environment.

Reduce – buy less, ask yourself if you really need it.

Reuse – Instead of buying something new do you have something else you can reuse instead? And when you do buy something new ask yourself if you can reuse the item afterwards.

Repurpose – if it can’t be reused as it is can it be used for something else? (A jam jar can be used to store other food or even buttons or nails, or wooden pallets can be made into garden furniture)

Recycle – recycle everything that you can if you can’t reuse or recycle it.

Rot – finally if you have a compost heap then you can help things decompose by allowing them to rot (natural materials only).

If you’re buying something that can’t be reused, repurposed or recycled and it won’t rot then you need to think twice about buying it and that includes any packaging materials the items come in.

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everything you need to know about recycling