Mindzle

Posts Tagged ‘reference’

Not enough people recycle the paper that they use, which is a real shame because there are many benefits to be had from doing so. What are those benefits? Well, these are some of the main ones…

- Forests, and the wildlife that live within them, are destroyed as a result of our excessive use of paper. Put simply, the less paper we recycle, the less trees we need to cut down. As well as the effect on wildlife and plant-life, excessive deforestation also creates visual scars on our beautiful planet. Once a forest has been cut down, there is little to no chance of that land ever being home to an ecosystem again.

- A lot of everyday items (newspapers, cardboard boxes, envelopes, egg cartons, paper towels, toilet paper, etc.) can be made from recycled paper. These items do the same job whether they are made from ‘new’ paper or recycled paper, so it makes so no sense to not make them from recycled paper. The problem is we are not recycling enough paper to be able to make these items from only recycled paper.

- Recycled paper has cost benefits as it is made from materials that would otherwise constitute the solid waste that is polluting our environment. By infusing this material into the paper manufacturing process, and getting rid of the costs associated with ‘virgin’ pulp and whitening agents, companies can achieve cost savings by both producing and consuming recycled materials

- Pollution is reduced by recycling paper. Paper manufacturing plants are responsible for pumping huge amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere, and that needs to be reduced where possible. As it is easier to create paper products from waste paper than raw materials, less pollution is created when we focus on the former. The paper that we unnecessarily throw away also ends up polluting the environment. Most of it ends up it landfill sites or being incinerated.

- It takes less energy to manufacture recycled paper and, as most of the energy that we use comes from fossil fuels, this can have a major effect on the environment. Any opportunity to use less coal and oil should be readily taken up. Maybe in the future, when we use more environmentally friendly forms of energy this will not really matter, but for the foreseeable future we have to cut back on the amount of energy that we waste as it damages the environment to create it.

There are numerous factors that need to be considered when setting up a new recycling scheme in your company. For example, what types of waste will be recycled, how much waste will be produced, how many, and what type, of containers will I need, and do these need to follow a particular color scheme? With all these different, and sometimes confusing, aspects to think about, we may forget to consider the actual environmental impact of the recycling bins themselves.

A large proportion of recycling and waste bins are manufactured from plastic, and a around 9% of global annual oil production is presently used in the manufacturing of plastics. Extracting this resource requires vast amounts of energy, and the production of plastic emits pollutants and greenhouse gases. It is easy to see how, despite being created with the intention of benefiting the environment, the manufacturing process of recycling bins has detrimental effects.

So, what can you do about this?

- Buy second-hand recycling containers. The best way you can minimize environmental impacts in waste management is through re-use. If you can find good quality second-hand containers then this prevents the bins from simply being discarded. You would be surprised at how many large corporations find themselves with redundant containers as a result of an altered pilot recycling project or simple change in color scheme.

– Purchase quality products. Look for containers that are well constructed and durable. Those used commercially will need to withstand far greater wear and tear than those used in the home. Invest in well made products which will last for years to come.

- Choose products with recycled plastic content. Many containers are now manufactured with a percentage of post-consumer recycled plastic. This will reduce the need for extraction of virgin materials and will also reduce energy consumption and emissions during the production process. As an example, producing recycled plastic carrier bags uses two thirds less energy, and 90% less water, compared to virgin production.

—

Ware 4 Recycling Bins Ltd have been promoting cost effective bins, trolleys and waste containers for over 5 years. For more info, visit Ware 4 Ltd

Below are some of the environmental and money saving benefits of recycling paper…

Saves Trees – The most obvious reason to recycle paper is for saving trees which provide vital oxygen for the planet. Just 1 ton of recycled paper saves at least 16 of them.

Wildlife Preservation – More often than not, the wildlife that lives in the trees that are cut down to make ‘new’ paper, die quickly because they cannot adapt to living anywhere else. Recycling paper means that they can die natural deaths instead of forced ones.

Cheaper Paper – Recycled paper is often cheap to purchase. Buying cheaper, recycled goods encourages more recycled goods to be manufactured, sustaining the recycling industry.

Less Water Consumption – 1 ton of recycled paper can save over 6500 gallons of water.

Saves Electricity – Producing electricity seriously damages the environment, but more than 400 kilowatt hours are saved by recycling 1 ton of paper.

Reduces Oil Dependence – Oil production has some horrific effects on the environment and any chance to reduce oil consumption should be taken. Saving 2 barrels per ton of recycled paper really makes a difference in the long term.

Less Pollution – Burning paper in waste incinerators pumps masses of pollution into the air. That means that we are unnecessarily causing the air that we all breathe to be of a lower quality.

Creates Jobs – Think about all the people who work within the paper recycling industry. Collectors, sorters and machine operators being just a few of them. The more that we recycle, the more of these jobs there will be created.

Paper Logs – Many people are now turning to paper logs as a supplementary fuel source. Consisting of tightly compressed briquettes of paper, these logs can be thrown on a fire or used in a wood burner to provide heat for free.

—

This article is provided by http://www.paperlogmaker.org.uk/, a website dedicated to paper log makers and paper recycling.

Each and every year thousands upon thousands of tons of trash is poured into landfills. While we are in no danger of running short on landfill space, this is expensive in terms of space, time, and energy invested, along with the sheer waste of materials that will not ever be used again.

With that in mind, consider these reasons to keep your aluminum and steel cans out of the landfill by recycling them instead.

– Aluminum which has been recycled is back in use again within 2 months. In contrast, it would take over 200 years for that metal to break down naturally if were just thrown away.

- Metal cans can be recycled for cash at many places. Various states offer five cents for each can given to them, and some recycling centers pay anywhere between a dollar and two dollars per pound of cans recycled.

- There are can crushing machines available that can be used to make the job easier, and you can even make a home-made one for free. Therefore, it is no excuse to say that recycling cans takes up too much space.

– Recycled steel and aluminum are have exactly the same composition as ‘new’ aluminum and steel. Recycled metals are just melted down and then forged into new products, which can then be recycled again when they are finished being used.

– The United States currently uses steel that is more than 65% recycled. This is a good start, but it could definitely be higher. Significant further progress would be made if more people were aware that they can recycle their steel cans.

– The 100,000,000 ‘new’ steel cans produced every day consist of 25% recycled materials. That equates to 25 million reclaimed cans vs. 75 million completely new cans. If people recycled more frequently, that number would soon jump to 50-50 and a great deal of energy and resources would be saved.

—

This article has been provided by Can Crusher, a site dedicated to information on crushing cans and recycling.

It is a fact that companies who take a clean and green approach to the way that they operate are more trusted by customers, and the public in general, and also incur fewer costs. What then can be done to become an environmentally friendly company?

Reduce Waste Where Possible – Assess your company processes to see where waste could be reduced. For example, can invoices be sent electronically and goods ordered in bulk to reduce packaging waste? Waste reduction should be the top priority of any waste management scheme as this is where the most cost effective and positive and environmental changes can be achieved.

Buy Recycled Paper – Producing one tonne of recycled paper saves 3000 liters of water and 78% energy use. Air emissions of gases such as CO2 are cut by 95% and there is less pollution because recycled paper is not bleached with chlorine. As for purchasing recycled paper, it is no more expensive than virgin paper, and nowadays the quality is as good.

Re-Use Plastic Cups – Plastics are harmful to the environment both when they are produced (various chemicals are emitted) and when they are disposed of (taking hundreds of years to decompose). Therefore, it really is inexcusable to not re-use the same plastic cup throughout the day, or to even do away with plastic cups altogether and just use mugs instead.

Recycle Printer Cartridges – Around 2 million printer cartridges are discarded every year. Recycling cartridges is easy as many suppliers offer a return scheme for used cartridges. Using recycled toner cartridges reduces demand for raw materials and they can be purchased for as little as half the price of non-recycled cartridges.

—

Ware 4 Recycling Bins Ltd have been promoting cost effective bins, trolleys and waste containers for over 5 years. For more info, visit Ware 4 Ltd.