Worldwide Recycling
Since 1997, November 15 has been dedicated to recycling – it is America Recycles Day and this annual event has been launched by the National Recycling Coalition. Nowadays, as it is known, the matter of reuse and recycle raw materials is really urgent. According to some statistics, the mankind has reached a worldwide population of 7 billion. Thus there is too much waste and America is responsible for consuming a disproportionate share of the planet’s resources. In many countries recycling is done by necessity, in others, reusing materials is done in a creative and useful way by artists, governments and businesses. Almost every used product or packaging maybe used as an artwork or other new, useful thing. Here are some purposes, ways how one material can act as a new, raw material for creating others:
As we consider recycling from the angle of industrial manufacturing, Ecotech Recycling Social Enterprise has done a good job. Managing Director Ming Cheung in this photo poses with fuel oil converted from plastic waste in front of his “Plastic Waste-to-Fuel System” plant, Hong Kong , August 24, 2011. The project is designed to support the practical and cost effective solution to plastic waste management with energy regeneration. The result of this prototype machine is converting three tons of plastic waste into 1,000 liters of fuel oil daily. This fuel oil need further refinement and then it is suitable for diesel engine usage.
There is an interesting example where plastic bottles and other recycled plastic and waste products are reused. Precisely, 11.000 reclaimed bottles are
Furniture That Protects Environment
We have been already talking about Energy Efficient Houses that are being built in order to decrease the contamination of the planet due to the use of fossil fuels. Energy efficient houses are really something that everyone should admire because of the many advantages, but these houses also have to be furnished. For those who respect the environment and think green here are some options how to decorate and furnish their homes. Additionally, for those who want to establish a company or to develop their current business, there are presented the more environmentally-friendly ways and materials that can be used for making furniture.
What can you do?
In general, furniture is considerably less expensive nowadays. However, it has a less desirable effect to the environment, because it can often contain toxic
materials which damage our surrounding. Also, furniture does not last, and in long term it is not cheaper because you have to buy more and more low quality items which ultimately pollute the environment. Each time you decide to purchase a new piece of furniture, think again do you really need a new one? You can restore your furniture, it can be again useful. Do it yourself or hire someone, maybe a restorer is able to give it a fresh new look using earth-friendly materials. Although it may be more expensive to hire a restorer than to buy a new piece of furniture, but remember you are doing it for the environment. Furthermore, there are second-hand options. In most cases, it can be restored and reused. Although it will need some cleaning, repairing or sanding, an eco-friendly finish can make it look new and usable. Only be careful (or avoid completely) when reusing second hand mattress and sofas, unless these items are from someone you know. When you buy some household item, buy it from local craftspeople, so you will support the local economy and decrease the environmental cost of shipping. It is also important to choose a piece of furniture with low-toxicity, because there are
Why Recycle?
What can be recycled? Many of items that we use daily: plastics, glass, ceramics, paper, cardboard, aluminum, iron, electronic and electrical waste,and so on.
Paper
Paper is obtained from wood processing in factories with the help of numerous chemical agents. At the same time, old and large forests disappear and there is a great risk of river pollution.
In order to avoid damaging of the environment, it is possible to re-collect the paper that we no longer need and give it to recycling. Moreover, processing of waste paper uses up to 60% less energy than if the product is received from natural materials (wood). Also, the processing of already used paper utilizes 15% less
Plastic Recycling
Once upon a time, there were not plastic bags, plastic bottles, packages, dangerous waste.. It would be the beginning of a tale, maybe not of a fairy-tale, rather of a realistic story. Yes, the harsh reality is that there is no longer any uncontaminated area on the whole World. Our life-style conducts all these changes that have occurred since the invention of plastic. We use artificial and unnatural substances as a basic material for almost all goods that are manufactured for packaging, home construction, transportation, toys, appliances, containers, clothing, home and industrial furnishing and so on. Moreover, we can hardly find any food or drink at supermarkets that are not wrapped into plastic foil and boxes. This is the mirror of our contemporary habits and the majority of people could not easily live without it. It seems impossible even to imagine life without all those household items and accessories that we use.
Recently, scientist and environmentalists have started to warn about the side effects of the artificial materials. Plastic products do not decompose after their use and they could last in the environment for up to a thousand years. The problem of waste plastic is taking a large volume of space in landfills. To lower the amount of plastic waste, we should reduce the amount of packaging used on products, we can re-use packaging more than once and we can recycle the used materials. The recycling of plastic waste contributes to reduce electricity consumption and thereby reduce emissions, so we should learn something about plastic recycling.
