Environmental Issues-Where Does Recycling Go?

Even though many people recycle, some people do not know where or what can it be recycled into. Steel cans are separated out from other recyclables by using a magnet. The cans are then crushed, compressed into bales, re-melted and turned into new steel products such as new cans, car doors, bridges and refrigerators. Liquid paperboard cartons (milk and juice cartons, including "long-life" cartons) are recycled into high quality office paper. A one liter carton can be recycled back into 5 -7 sheets. Aluminum cans can be recycled over and over into new cans. Twenty recycled cans can be made using the same amount of energy as required to produce one can from raw materials. Newspapers, "glossies" and magazines are recycled into cardboard and packaging, insulation products, animal bedding, kitty litter, and fire logs. Cardboard and other paper products including writing paper, envelopes, cereal containers, novels and phone books are reprocessed to produce new cardboard. Two types of glass beverage bottles are made in South Australia “multi-fill” bottles are washed and refilled several times with the same product whereas beer, soft drink and wine single-fill bottles and jars are meant to be used only once and then returned to a recycler. These bottles are crushed and recycled into new bottles. Recycling generally prevents the waste of potentially useful materials, reduces the consumption of raw materials and reduces energy usage. As with many other forms of recycling, the energy used in recycling materials is much less than that used in working with virgin materials. The total amount of energy used to recycle paper can be anywhere between 28 percent and 70 percent less, which represents significant environmental benefits. Recycled paper does not need re-bleaching, meaning that fewer harmful chemicals are released into the environment. Paper is made from parts of a tree that are unusable by other industries such as construction. Unlike other recycled products, some virgin wood needs to be included in recycled paper. My point is that many materials that people consider trash can be recycled and reused in a different way. Therefore, think twice before throwing an item in the trash!