Recycling
Recycling is the process of turning something old into something new. It’s better for the Earth. Recycle stuff like plastic, paper , glass, metal and cardboard.
In some countries, like the UK, recycling is generally collected from homes and businesses by waste collection services, and then taken to large centres where it can be sorted into all the recyclable materials we throw away every day; metal (aluminium soda cans and food tins), glass (jars and bottles), plastic (disposable cutlery, milk cartons, etc), paper and cardboard (newspapers, cereal boxes).
Recycle It
- Certain Plastic
- Paper
- Metal
- Glass
Don’t Recycle
- Certain Trash
- Light Bulbs
- Bubble Wrap
- Disposable Plates
Plastic recycling
It might take up to 1/2 millennium (500 years) or longer for plastic and things containing plastic to decompose (break down naturally) in the environment. For example, plastic grocery bags can take up to 20 years; plastic drinking straws can take up to 200 years, and disposable diapers can take even longer, 300 to 500 years!
Types of plastic that may be recycled
- 1: PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate)
- 2: HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)
- 4: LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) - Not many recycling services accept this, check first before recycling.
- 5: PP (Polypropylene) - Not many recycling services accept this, check first before recycling.
Types of plastic you should not recycle
- 3: PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)
- 6: PS (Polystyrene)
- 7: Unallocated (Every other kind of plastic not included in this list)
Paper recycling
Paper goes to a paper mill which pulp is made. Paper gets recycled into new paper products. This saves trees from being cut down. If a tree gets cut down it causes some pollution. So recycling paper can reduce the pollution.