There are four good reasons for
recycling, in descending order of
importance:
(1) By recycling materials you will be
saving large amounts of energy that
would otherwise be needed to make them
anew from raw materials. By saving on
electricity, and thus requiring less
fossil fuels, this will cause less
carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide to
be produced. Sulphur dioxide causes
acid rain, which damages forests,
wildlife and buildings, while carbon
dioxide causes the greenhouse effect, a
far more serious problem as it is
expected to cause catastrophic climate
changes.
(2) Recycling materials means that they
are used again instead of being thrown
away somewhere. If recycling does not
take place, more and more rubbish will
be produced in a never-ending
progression (millions of tonnes each
year). The growing shortage of land for
rubbish tips and land-fill sites means
that more and more beautiful areas of
land are being strewn with rubbish. As
well as being dangerous, the continual
accumulation of rubbish of various
sorts ruins whole areas of landscape.
(3) Huge amounts of raw materials that
should be saved are being wasted and
thrown away. By recycling, these
materials can be re-used, and their
natural sources saved for later use.
This not only means that vital
resources will not run out as quickly
(world supplies of some metals are
expected to run out within 25 years,
with disastrous consequences for some
industries), but also important
habitats can be protected, for example
recycling aluminium cans means that the
Amazon rain-forests suffer less
destruction through mining of new
aluminium ore (bauxite).
(4) Many recycling activies also raise
money for charity.
(1) One of the most important materials
to recycle is the aluminium used in
cans. This saves 95% of the energy used
to produce a new can - in other words
the saving of energy is absolutely
huge. Recycling cans also raises large
amounts of money, which most recycling
centres will give to charity. As well
as this, there is the advantage of
preventing destruction of the
rainforests mentioned above.
Ensure that a can is aluminium by
trying a magnet on the side; if it
DOESN'T stick, then it is aluminium.
Try to avoid cans with additional
plastic bits inside, for example
draughtflow beer cans. Push the can in
in the middle and then flatten it; this
means you can fit lots of them in a
plastic bag.
Some recycling organisers will also
want tin cans, i.e. iron coated with
tin. Use the same procedure, but don't
get the two sorts mixed up.
(2) Recycling paper is one of the most
widely publicised activities, sadly
Britiain is still well behind most EEC
countries in implementing it. One of
the most important things you can do is
to BUY RECYCLED PAPER; this helps to
ensure that there is sufficient demand
for it.The more people buy recycled
paper, the more the prices will fall;
at present recycled computer listing
paper can be bought for the same price
as non-recycled; recycled writing paper
is also available.
Many people refuse to use recycled
paper because they think it is not good
quality, but the only noticeable
difference is the slightly darker
colour of the paper - this is caused
because recycled paper is not produced
using unnecessary bleaches, harmful to
the environment, to turn the paper
brilliant white. The resulting paper is
perfectly acceptable for writing, and
is also easier on the eyes, especially
reading through lots of
computer-generated text late at night.
For photocopying or similar, high
quality 75% recycled paper, which is
guaranteed for laser printing, can be
obtained. It is a little more
expensive, but at only 0.5p per sheet,
it is a negligible cost compared to the
printing costs of 2p/page upwards on
ink-jets, laser printers and
photocopiers.
Recycling paper is particularly
advantageous, because if you throw
paper away, as well as increasing the
amount of rubbish, it will eventually
rot, giving off methane, which can
cause explosions, and carbon dioxide -
both gases contribute to the greenhouse
effect.
The best way to collect paper for
recycling is to find an A4-sized
cardboard box (Tesco supermarkets, and
possibly others, often leave suitable
boxes from their packaging to be
collected by anyone who wants them),
and leave it wherever is convenient.
Lay paper flat, this way you can fit
far more into the box.
Recycle all paper products -
newspapers, magazines (preferably
without the staples), circulars and
catalogues, envelopes too badly torn to
be re-used (without the plastic inserts
of address windows). If your box fills
up before you have time to hand it over
for recycling, simply put it away
somewhere and fill another one.
(3) If there is a cardboard-recycling
scheme in your area, this is also
valuable, since cardboard rots when
thrown away too. For cereal boxes etc.,
open the top and bottom of the carton,
and then fold it flat. Similarly with
all waste cardboard (although the
tougher sorts can be used to protect
disks), including the cardboard insides
of toilet rolls!
By crushing all your cardboard and card
flat, you can fit an incredible amount
of it into one cardboard box (probably
several hundred cereal packets), and it
still doesn't weigh that much.
(4) Recycling glass is also
advantageous, and saves significant
amounts of energy; avoiding having lots
of broken glass lying around rubbish
tips is also of obvious benefit to
children who live near them. In
addition, glass manufacturers (like
aluminium can makers) need as much
recycled glass as you can possibly give
them, and the final product is
indistinguishable from normal glass.
Use a cardboard box to put all your
bottles, jars etc. in (no plastic tops
or corks, but the stickers and labels
don't matter). Ensure that the glass is
placed in the correct-coloured
receptacle for recycling (brown, green
or clear is usually the choice), though
don't worry if a bottle is half-way in
between two colours and you can't
decide.
(5) Some areas have facilities for
recycling plastic - I believe it mainly
applies to bottles of orange squash
etc., because there are many different
sorts of plastic. This is also a good
idea, but very few areas have this
facility, and it doesn't save as much
energy as recycling glass, so where
possible, buy glass bottles in
preference to plastic.
(6) Used stamps! Strange though it may
seem, stamps that have been stamped by
the Post Office can actually raise
money for charity. Cut off the stamps,
including a narrow border of the paper
they have been stuck on (then recycle
the envelope!). If you can't find
someone that can make use of them, send
them on to me (8BS, 1 Oakwood Drive
etc.) - they don't weigh much! But
don't cut up an envelope that could be
re-used.
Recycling facilities are now spread
across the entire country, but not all
of them are convenient, and they can
occasionally be hard to find if you
don't know about them. But persevere,
and try the following:
(1) Tesco, Sainsbury's and others
support recycling, and many stores have
bottle banks and/or receptacles for
paper, cardboard, cans in their
grounds.
(2) Your county council (or whatever)
should have implemented a policy on
recycling, and some (most/all?)
councils have a Recycling Officer to
organise this. Write to them or phone
them (check local phone book) and ask
for information; you may be surprised
by the number of recycling facilities
spread across your area. If they do not
provide a reasonable amount of
facilities, complain.
(3) Friends of the Earth provide or
support a number of recycling
collection schemes (such as one in
Oxford), and even if they do not do
this in your area, they may be able to
provide you with information about how
to find recycling facilities if neither
of the two above options can help you.
The best way to contact them is through
their Local Groups, which should have
info about recycling in their area:
Brent 081 440 1366
Brentwood 0277 221123
Elmbridge 081 783 0357
Enfield 081 360 9193
Epsom 081 393 9409
Hemel Hempstead 0442 67674
Hillingdon 0895 639251
Mole Valley 0306 882811
North Mymms 0707 269589
Reigate 0737 643563
St Albans 0727 51278
Staines 0932 245124
Surbiton 081 390 0053
Tandridge 0883 342841
Watford 0923 221353
Woking 0483 725439
If none of these are close enough to
you, try ringing Friends of the Earth
on 071 490 1555 and ask if there is a
Local Group in your area; there are
around 300 altogether.
If the nearest recycling facility to
you is too far to walk, don't make a
specific journey by car, as this is
very inefficient; try to drop off the
materials for recycling on the way to
somewhere else.
(1) Far more efficient than recycling
is re-using. For example, it is far
better to open an envelope carefully so
that it can be used again than to send
it to be recycled and then buy another
one. Re-using materials saves large
amounts of energy and resources, and
can also save you lots of money.
For sending disks, 100% cardboard disk
mailers are best as they can be used
again and again (don't seal them with
too much tape, though, as they can be
ripped accidentally), while simple
board-backed envelopes and padded
envelopes tend to fall apart after only
2-3 uses, and often rip when being
opened.
Many companies (and people) send
letters etc. printed on only one side
of the paper. Find (another) A4-sized
cardboard box, and store up all the
sheets that are in good enough
condition to be re-used. I have well
over 1000 sheets of paper ready for
re-use.
They can be used for rough notes for
yourself (home, work, school,
university), for draft printouts, and
basically anything that you are
printing or writing only for yourself
(although I did at one stage print
school essays on the back of notes and
question-sheets that had been
photocopied on one side only). Once you
have used the paper for the second
time, then is the time to recycle it.
Try to avoid throwing things away that
may be of use to other people; many
charities collect old clothes and
unwanted toys etc., or you could sell
them at a car boot sale or whatever.
There are many different things that
can be re-used; all you have to do is
to think of them!
(2) When shopping, try to make an
environmentally friendly choice. Only
buy aerosols if they are "CFC-free" or
"Ozone-friendly". Avoid buying products
with excessive packaging (for example,
it is better to buy Cadbury's Creme
Eggs singly than in three-packs). For
items like orange squash etc., try to
buy larger bottles (2 litre) rather
than small (1 litre), as you then end
up with less packaging per litre of the
product.
If possible, buy glass bottles rather
than plastic, as these are easier to
recycle. Buying fresh fruit, vegetables
and meat locally, rather than heavily
packaged and/or partially artificial
convenience foods, not only helps to
support local farmers, but also reduces
the amount of packaging and transport
involved, and is probably better for
you as well! For products you do buy in
supermarkets, look for those with the
recycling symbol (three arrows) on
them.
(3) Using public transport, walking or
cycling is more environmentally
friendly than taking a car or a taxi.
If you have to drive, try not to make
journeys with only one person in the
car; you are dragging round hundreds or
thousands of kilogrammes of metal and
plastic, at a huge cost in pollution,
just to move less than 100kg of person
from one place to another.
In any case, avoid driving over 65mph;
it is inefficient on fuel, and gets
more inefficient the faster you go.
Ensure you have a catalytic converter;
if possible, use unleaded petrol
(pollution from leaded petrol causes
brain damage in children - unleaded is
cheaper, too). It is also beneficial to
buy the smallest car that is sufficient
for your needs; and if possible, buy a
diesel car.
(4) Reducing the amount of power/fuel
you use to heat your home is also
important - and will save you even more
money now that VAT is to be added to
fuel and electricity bills. If you can
afford it in the short term, having
adequate loft insulation (5 inches or
so) will save you HUGE amounts of money
in the long term. Double-glazing all
windows is also very valuable. Keep as
many doors shut as possible, and turn
off radiators in rooms that are little
used.
(5) You can also save large amounts of
electricity on lighting. Don't sit in
the dark, but unless you're reading,
it's unnecessary to have blazing
lighting on; more than 100W of lights
on in a room is excessive, and 60W is
preferable.
When going out of a room for more than
thirty seconds, always TURN THE LIGHTS
OFF, except for fluorescent lights,
which should only be turned off if
you're going out for five minutes or
more. Try to keep other electrical
appliances off as much as possible too,
though your Beeb consumes very little
power compared to your lighting, so
let's not go too far - lighting is most
important.
The best way to save electricity, and
large amounts of money, is to purchase
the new(-ish) Energy Efficient Bulbs,
now widely on sale. Although these are
much more expensive than normal bulbs,
not only do they produce the same
amount of light for far less
electricity, but they also last much
longer before needing to be replaced.
So the initial cost is greater, but in
the long run you will be saving
yourself large amounts of money, and
helping to stop pollution.
(6) One of the best ways to help the
environment is to put pressure on those
who pollute it and damage it without
considering the consequences. Friends
of the Earth is one of the leading
enviromental pressure groups, with over
300 local groups in Britain and
national organisations in 47 countries
worldwide.
They campaign on a wide variety of
issues, including recycling, energy
efficiency, air and water pollution,
rain forest destruction etc., but
oppose illegal or violent protests. As
well as lobbying government and
commercial interests, they provide a
wide variety of information on
enviromental issues to the public, so
that they too can help the environment.
Joining FoE means you will receive
their quarterly magazine, Earth
Matters, which contains information and
comment on environmental issues, far
more searching than anything you will
find in the papers or elsewhere, and
news on what you can do for the
environment, as well as updates on
important campaigns.
But more importantly, the money you
give to join will go towards the
important environmental work that FoE
do. You can also arrange to give
additional money to support their work,
either by standing order, or by PAYE
schemes, which mean you don't pay tax
on the money you give to them. For
details of how to join, phone 0582
482297, or contact me.