[[Image:Recycle001.svg|thumb|right|144px|The [[Recycling symbol]].]] [[Image:International tidyman.svg|thumb|right|The International Tidy Man]] {{Environmental technology}} '''Recycling''' is the reprocessing of materials that would otherwise become [[waste]] in order to remake them into new products. This is in contrast with [[reuse]]: collecting waste such as food containers to be cleaned, refilled and resold. Recycling prevents the waste being sent to a [[landfill]] or [[incineration|incinerator]], reduces the consumption of new raw materials, and is advocated by supporters to require less [[energy]] than virgin production. Commonly recycled materials include [[glass]], [[paper]], [[aluminium]], [[asphalt]], [[steel]], [[textiles]] and [[plastic]]. These materials can be derived either from pre-consumer waste (materials used in [[manufacturing]]) or post-consumer waste (materials discarded by the [[consumer]]). Recycling is a key concept of modern [[waste management]] and is the third component of the [[waste hierarchy]]. Recycling of waste requires a system of waste sorting, either by the producer through [[kerbside collection]] systems or at a [[materials recovery facility]]. ==History== {{Globalize}} Recycling has been a common practice throughout human history. In [[industrial revolution|pre-industrial]] times, scrap made of bronze and other precious metals was collected in Europe and melted down for perpetual reuse, and in Britain dust and ash from wood and coal fires was [[downcycling|downcycled]] as a base material in brickmaking. The main driver for these types of recycling was the economic advantage of obtaining recycled feedstock instead of acquiring virgin material, as well as a lack of public waste removal in ever more-populated cites. Paper recycling began in Britain in 1921, when the [[British Waste Paper Association]] was established to encourage trade in waste paper recycling. [[Image:Aber Recycling.jpg|thumb|right|Recycling bins in [[Aberystwyth]], [[Wales]]. Bilingual with [[English language|English]] and [[Welsh language|Welsh]].]] Resource shortages caused by the [[world wars]] greatly encouraged recycling. Massive government promotion campaigns were carried out in [[World War II]] in every country involved in the war, urging citizens to donate metals and conserve fibre, as a matter of significant patriotic importance. Resource conservation programs established during the war were continued in some countries without an abundance of natural resources, such as Japan, after the war ended. [[Image:Plastic_recycle.jpg|thumb|left|Sorted household plastic waiting to be taken away for reprocessing in [[New York City]].]] In the USA, the next big investment in recycling occurred in the 1970s, due to rising energy costs (recycling aluminium uses only 5% of the energy required by virgin production; glass, paper and metals have less dramatic but very significant energy savings when recycled feedstock is used). The passage of the [[Clean Water Act]] of 1977 in the USA created strong demand for bleached paper (office paper whose fibre has already been bleached white increased in value as water effluent became more expensive). In 1973, the city of [[Berkeley, California]] began one of the first [[kerbside collection]] programs with monthly pick ups of newspapers from residences. Since then several countries have started and expanded various doorstep collection schemes. [[Image:DeutscheBahnRecycling20050814 CopyrightKaihsuTai Rotated.jpg|thumb|right|Recycling and rubbish bin in a German railway station.]] One event that initiated recycling efforts occurred in 1989 when the city of Berkeley, California, banned the use of [[polystyrene]] packaging for keeping [[McDonald's]] hamburgers warm. One effect of this ban was to raise the ire of management at [[Dow Chemical]], the world's largest manufacturer of polystyrene, which led to the first major effort to show that plastics can be recycled. By 1999, there were 1,677 companies in the USA alone involved in the post-consumer plastics recycling business. ==Benefits== One of the main benefits of recycling comes from reducing the amount of new material required. In theory, recycling allows a material to be continually reused for the same purpose, and in many cases this theory holds true, most notably in the recycling of metals and glass. Since less raw material is required, recycling creates further benefits for materials where cost of the initial extraction or production is high—either economically, socially or environmentally. The recycling of aluminium, for example, saves 95% of the [[CO2|CO2]] emissions—an environmentally harmful [[greenhouse gas]]—compared to refining new metal. Concerns about limited resources such as [[raw materials]] and land space for disposal of waste have increased the importance of recycling. However maximum environmental benefit is gained by [[waste minimisation|reducing the amount of waste produced]], and reusing items in their current form, for example refilling bottles. All recycling techniques consume energy, for transportation and processing, and some also use considerable amounts of water. Both of these resources have an environmental impact which is why campaigners use the slogan '''[[waste minimisation|Reduce]], [[Reuse]], [[Recycle]]''' to indicate the preferred order for waste management in the [[waste hierarchy]]. ===Comparing recycling with normal extraction=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- ! align='left' valign='top' |'''Aluminium''' | align='left' valign='top' |Recycling one kilogram of aluminium saves up to 8 kilograms of bauxite, four kilograms of chemical products and 14 kilowatt hours of electricity. ''Aluminium Recycling Facts'', International Aluminium Institute [http://www.world-aluminium.org/environment/recycling/ link] ''Metals - aluminium and steel recycling information sheet'', Waste Watch [http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/resources/InformationSheets/metals.htm link] | align='left' valign='top' |It takes 20 times more energy to make aluminum from bauxite ore than using recycled aluminum.''Benefits of Recycling'', Ohio Department of Natural Resources [http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/recycling/awareness/facts/benefits.htm link] |- ! align='left' valign='top' |'''Glass''' | align='left' valign='top' |A 20% reduction in emissions from glass furnaces and up to 32% reduction in energy usage. {{fact}} | align='left' valign='top' |For every ton of recycled glass used, approx 315 kilos of [[Carbon dioxide]] and 1.2 tons of raw materials are spared. ''Glass recycling information sheet'', Waste Watch [http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/resources/InformationSheets/Glass.htm link] |- ! align='left' valign='top' |'''Paper''' | align='left' valign='top' |A ton of paper from recycled material conserves about 7,000 gallons of water, 17-31 trees, 60 lb of air pollutants and 4,000 KWh of electricity.''Recycling Paper & Glass'', U.S Department of Energy Kid's Page [http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/saving/recycling/solidwaste/paperandglass.html link] | align='left' valign='top' |Milling paper from recycled paper uses 20% less energy than it does to make paper from fresh lumber. |} ==Drawbacks== [[Image:UnterDenLindenRecycling20050815 CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg|thumb|right|A recycling and rubbish bin in a Berlin public-transport station]] There are some drawbacks and negative consequences to recycling which must be considered. Paper can only be recycled a finite number of times due to the shortening of paper fibres making the material less versatile. Often it will be mixed with a quantity of virgin material. This is referred to as ''[[downcycling]]''. This does not however exclude the material from being used in other processes such as [[composting]] or [[anaerobic digestion]], where further value can be extracted from the material in the form of [[compost]] or [[biogas]]. There may also be drawbacks with the [[kerbside collection|collection method]]s associated with recycling. Increasing collections of separated wastes adds to vehicle movements and the production of carbon dioxide. This may be negated however by centralised facilities such as some advanced [[material recovery facilities]] of [[mechanical biological treatment]] systems for the separation of [[municipal waste|mixed waste]]s. ===Shipbreaking=== :''Main article: [[Shipbreaking]]'' A form of metal recovery associated to recycling is "[[shipbreaking]]". This is the process of breaking the ship into smaller, recyclable pieces of metal. It often has a number of major drawbacks to the local community and the local environment where shipbreaking occurs. Shipbreaking tends to occur in poor countries where lack of or insufficient safety standards, labor laws and wage agreements makes them a lucrative area for demolition work. [[India]], [[Pakistan]], [[Turkey]] and [[Bangladesh]] make up the majority of these countries. Toxic material in the form of metals, gas, fumes and exhaust often contaminate a large area surrounding the ship breaking yards, including nearby villages and sleeping quarters for the workers, which are commonly placed nearby the yards. Material such as paint, electrical equipment, wire, anodes and coatings are often burned or simply dumped in the dismantling process. This releases metals such as [[Mercury (element)|mercury]], [[lead]], [[arsenic]] and [[chromium]]. Polychlorinated organic compounds are another source of toxic material that can be found in transformers and cable insulation often burned or dumped in and around the ship breaking yard. It is believed that many of the social, economical and environmental drawback in shipbreaking could be alleviated greatly by adhering to safe handling of the recycling process, or the ship owner decontaminating the toxins from the ship before it gets sent to be demolished. ===Electronics disassembly and reclamation=== :''Main article: [[Electronic waste]]'' Electronic devices, including audio-visual components ([[television]]s, [[VCR]]s, [[sound reproduction|stereo equipment]]), [[mobile phone]]s and other hand-held devices, [[computer hardware|computer components]], and [[gaming]] equipment, contain valuable elements and substances suitable for reclamation, including lead, [[copper]], and [[gold]]. They also contain a plethora of toxic substances such as [[dioxins]], [[Polychlorinated biphenyls|PCB]]s, [[cadmium]], [[chromium]], [[radioactive isotopes]], and mercury. Additionally, the processing required to reclaim the precious substances (including incineration and acid treatments) release, generate and synthesise further toxic byproducts. In the United States, an estimated 70% of heavy metals in landfills come from discarded electronics.''Poison PCs/Toxic TVs Executive Summary'', Silicon Valley Toxic Corporation [http://www.svtc.org/cleancc/pubs/pctvexecsum.htm link] Some regional governments are attempting to curtail the accumulation of electronics in landfills by passing laws obligating manufacturers and consumers to recycle these devices,''California to electronics industry: No toxins for you!'' by Nate Anderson, February 24, 2006 [http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060224-6254.html link] but because in many cases safe dismantlement of these devices in accordance with [[first world]] safety standards is unprofitable,{{fact}} historically much of the [[electronic waste]] has been shipped to countries with lower or less rigorously-enforced safety protocols. Places like [[Guiyu]], [[China]] dismantle tonnes of electronics every year, profiting from the sale of precious metals, but at the cost of the local environment and the health of its residents.''Activists Push for Safer E-Recycling'' [http://www.npr.org/programs/watc/features/2002/apr/computers/index.html link] ''Computer age leftovers'', Denver Post [http://www.denverpost.com/perspective/ci_3633138 link] ==Recycling techniques== Many different materials can be recycled but each type requires a different technique. ===Aluminium=== {{main|Aluminium recycling}} [[Aluminium]] is shredded and ground into small pieces. These pieces are melted in an aluminium smelter to produce molten aluminium. By this stage the recycled aluminium is indistinguishable from virgin aluminium and further processing is identical for both. The environmental benefits of recycling aluminium are also enormous. Only around 5% of the CO2 is produced during the recycling process compared to producing raw aluminium (and an even smaller percentage when considering the complete cycle of mining and transporting the aluminium). Also, as [[open-cut mining]] most often used for obtaining aluminium ore, mining destroys large sections of natural land. ===Batteries=== The large variation in size and type of [[batteries]] makes their recycling extremely difficult: they must first be sorted into similar kinds and each kind requires an individual recycling process. Additionally, older batteries contain [[Mercury (element)|mercury]] and [[cadmium]], harmful materials which must be handled with caution. ===Concrete=== {{main|Concrete recycling}} Concrete [[aggregate (composite)|aggregate]] collected from demolition sites is put through a [[crusher|crushing machine]], often along with asphalt, bricks, dirt, and rocks. Smaller pieces of concrete are used as gravel for new construction projects. Crushed recycled concrete can also be used as the dry aggregate for brand new concrete if it is free of contaminants. ===Electrical equipment=== {{main|Electronic waste}} The direct disposal of electrical equipment—such as old [[computers]] and mobile phones—is banned in many areas due to the toxic contents of certain components. The recycling process works by mechanically separating the metals, plastics and [[circuit board]]s contained in the appliance. When this is done on a large scale at an [[electronic waste]] recycling plant, component recovery can be achieved in a cost-effective manner. ===Glass=== [[Image:RecyclingStationOxford20040828.jpg|thumb|right|A recyclables collection station in [[Oxford]], [[England]].]] {{main|Glass recycling}} Glass bottles and jars are gathered via kerbside collection schemes and bottle banks, where the glass is sorted into colour categories. The collected glass ''cullet'' is taken to a glass recycling plant where it is monitored for purity and contaminants are removed. The cullet is crushed and added to a raw material mix in a melting furnace. It is then mechanically blown or moulded into new jars or bottles. Glass cullet is also used in the construction industry for aggregate and glasphalt. Glasphalt is a road-laying material which comprises around 30% recycled glass. Glass can be recycled indefinitely as its structure does not deteriorate when reprocessed. ===Biodegradable waste=== {{main|Compost}} {{main|Anaerobic digestion}} {{main|Mechanical biological treatment}} [[Biodegradable waste]] can be recycled into useful material by biological decomposition. There are two mechanisms by which this can occur. The most common mechanism of recycling of household organic waste is home [[composting]] or municipal kerbside collection of green wastes sent to large scale composting plants. Alternatively organic waste can be converted into [[biogas]] and soil improver using [[anaerobic digestion]]. Here organic wastes are broken down by anaerobic microorganisms in biogas plants. The biogas can be converted into [[renewable]] electricity or burnt for environmentally friendly heating. Advanced technologies such as [[mechanical biological treatment]] are able to sort the recyclable elements of the waste out before biological treatment by either composting, anaerobic digestion or [[biodrying]]. ===Paper=== {{main|Paper recycling}} Paper can be directly recycled or treated with other biodegradable wastes. In direct recycling it is separated into its component fibres in water, which creates a pulp slurry material. A cleaning process removes non-fibrous contaminants and if required, [[sodium hydroxide]] or [[sodium carbonate]] is used to de-ink the material. This fibre is then ready to be used to make new recycled paper. Paper is the main material that gets recycled in most countries. ===Plastic=== {{main|Plastic recycling}} Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastics and reprocessing the material into useful products. For instance, this could mean melting down polyester soft drink bottles then spinning the polymer into fibers. ===Steel=== Steel is the worlds most recycled material, and one of the easiest materials to recycle, as it can be separated magnetically from the wastestream. All of the scrap steel that is available and captured by the steel industry is recycled. Recycling is via the steelworks, scrap is either remelted in the Electric Arc Furnace (90-100% scrap), as use as part of the charge in the Basic Oxygen Furnace (around 25% scrap).Sustainable Development and Steel'', Canadian Institute of Steel Construction [http://www.cisc.ca/content/sustainable/default.aspx link] Unlike aluminium or glass, any grade of steel can be recycled to top quality new metal, with no 'downgrading' from prime to lower quality materials as steel is recycled repeatedly. 42% of crude steel produced is recycled material.''Steel: The Foundation of a Sustainable Future'', Sustainability Report of the World Steel Industry 2005 [http://www.worldsteel.org/pictures/storyfiles/SR05%20Final.pdf link (PDF)] ===Textiles=== When considering textile recycling one must understand what the material consists of. Most textiles are composites of cotton (biodegradable material) and synthetic plastics. The textiles composition will affect its durability and method of recycling. [[Waste picker|Worker]]s sort and separate collected textiles into good quality clothing and shoes which can be reused or worn. Damaged textiles are further sorted into grades to make industrial wiping cloths and for use in paper manufacture or material which is suitable for fibre reclamation and filling products. Fibre reclamation mills sort textiles according to fibre type and colour. Colour sorting eliminates the need to re-dye the recycled textiles. The textiles are shredded into 'shoddy' fibres and blended with other selected fibres, depending on the intended end use of the recycled yarn. The blended mixture is carded to clean and mix the fibres and spun ready for weaving or knitting. The fibres can also be compressed for mattress production. Textiles sent to the flocking industry are shredded to make filling material for car insulation, roofing felts, loudspeaker cones, panel linings and furniture padding. ==Recycling in the United States== [[Image:Santamonicarecyclingcenter.jpg|thumb|right|A [[civic amenity centre|collection center]] for recyclables in [[Santa Monica, California]], USA]] A number of [[U.S. state]]s, such as [[California]], [[Hawaii]], [[Oregon Bottle Bill|Oregon]], [[Connecticut]], [[Delaware]], [[Maine]], [[Vermont]], [[Massachusetts]], [[Iowa]], [[Michigan]] and [[New York]] have passed laws that establish [[Container deposit legislation|deposits]] or refund values on [[beverage]] containers in order to promote recycling. Most are five cents per can or bottle. Michigan's deposit is 10 cents. Some cities, such as New York City and [[Seattle]], have created laws that enforce fines upon citizens who throw away certain recyclable materials. State support for recycling may be more expensive than alternatives such as landfill; recycling efforts in New York City in the [[USA]] cost $57 million per year.''Forced Recycling Is a Waste'', Logomasini, A. (2002)[[The Wall Street Journal]]. [[March 19]] [[2002]] [http://www.cei.org/gencon/019,02897.cfm link] Environmentalists argue that the benefits to society from recycling compensate for any difference in cost. A movement called eCycling has also started via [http://www.ecyclezone.com ecyclezone.com], where general public, rather than throwing away general household items, give these items to someone who may use them. All this is being done for free. The items are posted on the website, where general public can search for these items and get these items for free. This helps, both the donors as well as recipients. The donors, instead of throwing away stuff, give it back to the society and the recipients get things for free. This ultimately reduce the amount of stuff that goes in landfills. This free movement has been started with a view to create community-based efforts to reduce landfills and to help others. ==See also== * [[Anaerobic digestion]]- Green energy and compost from organic waste * [[Composting]] * [[Downcycling]] * [[Recyclable waste]] * [[Materials Recovery Facility]] * [[Mechanical biological treatment]] * [[Tin Can]] ;Types of recycling * [[Full Depth Recycling]] * [[Ship-Submarine recycling program]] * [[Thermal depolymerization]] ; General topics * [[Environmentalism]] * [[Energy conservation]] * [[Waste management]] ** [[Extended producer responsibility]] ** [[PAYT|Pay As You Throw]] ==References==