ALUMINIUM DRINKS CANS:
Recycling one aluminium can saves enough energy to run a TV for 3 hours or the equivalent of half a gallon of petrol.
At one time, aluminium was more valuable than gold.
£36 million pounds worth of aluminium ends up in landfill each year.
Recycling 1 kilogram of aluminium can save up to 8 kilos of bauxite, 4 kilos of chemical products and 14 kilowatt hours.
There is no limit to the amount of times a can, can be recycled.
Aluminium is the biggest energy saver of all, saving 64,300 kilowatt hours per ton of reclaimed material.
Aluminium is the third most abundant element in the earth’s crust.
Nearly 60% of the aluminium used in the u.k has been previously recycled.
As Aluminium doesn’t occur naturally, it has to be extracted from its ore ( bauxite ) which is mined and then ‘smelted’ in a very energy intensive process.
Recycling aluminium drinks cans saves 95% of the energy needed to make aluminium from raw materials.
Currently 42% of aluminium drinks cans are recycled in the UK. Compared to only 2% recycled in 1989.
Switzerland and Finland recycle over 90% of their cans).
BATTERIES:
It takes 50 times more energy to make a battery than it gives during its life.
Car batteries have the highest recycling rate out of all recycled materials.
CARDBOARD:
You can recycle cardboard upto 5 times before the fibres become to short, this can then be used as compost.
The UK produces over 8 million tons of cardboard every year.
GENERAL WASTE:
The average dustbin contains enough energy for 500 baths, 3,500 showers or 5,000 hours of TV.
3.3 cubic yards of compacted waste=1 Ton.
6 cubic yards of uncompacted waste=1 Ton.
1 cubic yard of bailed waste=1 Ton.
GLASS BOTTLES:
A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose and even longer if it’s in landfill.
The energy saved from recycling 1 glass bottle can run a 100 watt light bulb for 4 hours, it also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.
Five out of six glass bottles are thrown away.
INCINERATION:
Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as burning it.
OIL:
A single quart of motor oil can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water if disposed of improperly.
NAPPIES:
We get through nearly 3 billion disposable nappies each year in the u.k alone and around 90% end up in landfill and take 500 years to decompose, 7 million trees are cut down every year to make them.
PAPER:
In the u.k the average person gets through 38kg of newspapers per year.
12.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard are used every year in the UK.
1 ton of recycled paper saves: 17 mature trees, 6,953 gallons of water, 463 gallons of oil, 4,077 kilowatt hours and 3.06 cubic yards (2,340 litres) of landfill space.
PLASTIC:
Recycling 1 ton of PET saves 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space.
5 recycled 2 litre PET bottles can be used to make 1 square foot of carpet.
1 plastic cup can be recycled to make a pencil.
1 ton= 20,000 plastic bottles.
It takes more energy to make a glass bottle than it does to make a plastic one.
It’s estimated up to 40% more fuel is used to transport glass bottles, compared to plastic.
Apprx 88% of energy is saved when plastic is made from plastic instead of the raw materials of oil and gas.
RECYCLING:
Incinerating 10,000 tons of waste creates one job; land filling 10,000 tons of waste creates six jobs; recycling 10,000 tons of waste creates 36 jobs.
STEEL:
Recycling just 1 car saves 1,134kg of iron ore, 635kg of coal and 54kg of limestone.
Recycled steel is made into steel cans, building materials, tools, in fact, almost everything made of steel.
When tin cans are produced from recycled steel, the energy and water required is cut by 25% and the air pollution is reduced by 25% . By saving this energy we save precious resources like coal, gas, oil and water.
Making steel for a steel can, uses about half the energy it takes to make aluminium for the same sized aluminium can.
Products made of steel can be recycled to make new products again and again and again without any loss of quality.
Information from various sources.
Useful Links:
www.environment-agency.gov.uk
www.uk-energy-saving.com
www.recycling-guide.org.uk
www.recyclenow.com
www.wrap.org.uk
Recycling Calculator:
www.ecorewards.com
Useful Info:
1000 litres = 1 cubic mitre
1 cubic metre = 1.3079506 cubic yards
1 kilometre = 0.62137119 mile
1 mile = 1.609344 kilometres
For more information about this and any other services and products we supply:
T: 01702 511671
