Four Major Advantages of Recycling

With the increased threat of environmental damage and global warming, there’s never been a more important time to correctly dispose of your waste, which is exactly why recycling is so important to the future of our homes. In this post, we take a closer look at four of the major advantages of choosing to recycle:

Conserve Natural Resources

Recycling is directly responsible for protecting and conserving the Earth’s natural resources. Using existing materials protects the natural landscape and wildlife and is hugely beneficial to the planet’s health and longevity. With recycling, existing metals are being used instead of drilling deep into the earth to access new ones, whilst reducing the levels of water we consume, which would otherwise be used in the creation of new materials. Mining for resources is damaging to the environment and the ecosystem and should, in today’s society at least, be avoided as much as realistically possible.

In short:

●     Recycling paper and wood saves trees and forests.

●     Recycling plastic means creating less new plastic.

●     Recycling metals means there's less need for mining and extraction.

●     Recycling glass reduces the need to use new raw materials like sand.

Remember, It's far better to recycle existing products than to damage land in the search for raw materials.

Save Energy

Producing new products from existing recyclables requires far less energy than making them exclusively from raw materials. For instance, when we recycle aluminium cans from old products, we typically use up to 95% less energy than if we were to produce it from scratch. For recycled steel, this number is around 75%, and with paper around 40%. The energy saved just from saving one tonne of metal is comparable with the energy required to power four homes for roughly 120 days. This saved energy is passed down to the consumer in terms of energy cost savings but is also hugely beneficial to our environment and preservation of natural resources, reducing greenhouse emissions and the need to mine for raw materials.



Reduce Emissions

The production of plastic and aluminium cans often involves the burning of massive amounts of waste, contributing heavily to the levels of greenhouse gas pollution found in our atmosphere. If these products are reused, instead of being manufactured from scratch, pollution levels will be significantly reduced. With the looming threat of global warming constantly hanging over our heads, reducing emissions and the need to source raw materials will be pivotal in the future of our planet. Throwing the majority of our waste into landfills leads to overflowing, resulting in higher levels of pollution, environmental damage and the potential risk of water contamination, especially with the risk of rubbish reaching our oceans. Waste in landfills has the potential to contaminate our waters and our soil, highlighting the importance of recycling to our atmosphere.

If you’re looking for a greener waste disposal service, you can look no further than the experts at Henry Waste, Skip Hire and House Clearance. Based in Coatbridge, we’ll ensure all your rubbish is carefully separated and recycled where possible, for your peace of mind. Contact us today.