Recycling

ReduceReuse

Recycle

Converting waste into reusable material

Turning one products useful parts into another product

What is recycling?

In the Western world, approximately 50 percent of the

trash in landfills could be recycled

Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours

Americans use 4 million plastic bottles every hour

Around 200 B.C. the Chinese used fishing nets to create the world’s very first piece of recycled paper

75% of a tree harvested for paper does not end up as a paper product

Glass never wears out- it can be recycled forever

Recycling Facts

There are four main reasons we use packaging:

To preserve food To contain objects so they can be

transported safely To describe and identify the contents so

that customers know what they are buying To protect the contents so that when they

arrive, they are not damaged

What is Packaging?

Buy packaging that can be recycled

Look for packaging made from recycled material

Buy products that are packaged in a way that best suits how they are going to be used so that you don’t use more packaging then necessary

Ways you can reduce packaging

Glass

PlasticsMetal

PaperAluminum

What can be recycled?

Plastic bottles are picked up from curbside recycling bins

The bottles are taken away to be sorted and crushed into big blocks

The bottles are then taken to a factory where they are crushed into small flakes

The flakes are washed and dried and then melted and made into new bottles

How is plastic recycled?

Glass is collected from curbsides or drop-off points

Glass is transported to recycling plant where metal caps and plastic sleeves are removed

The glass is then crushed into small pieces and transported to the glass factory

At the glass factory it is mixed with sand, limestone and soda ash and melted in a large furnace

The hot glass is molded into new bottles

How is glass recycled?

The process of recycling paper

• Used papers are picked up from curbside bins and taken to the paper factory

• At the paper mill conveyer belts feed the paper into giant pulpers

• Water and chemicals are mixed with the paper to remove ink and contaminants and turn the old paper into pulp

• The pulp is then placed between two wire meshes and left to dry where it becomes new paper

• The dried paper is polished and rolled into jumbo reels

o Aluminum cans are picked up from cash-can centers or curbside bins

o Cans are sorted and squashed together in large bales o The bales are shredded into small pieces and cleaned and

are then melted down into large blocks of aluminumo The large blocks are rolled like pastry into very thin sheetso New cans are then made out of these thin sheets

Aluminum can recycling

Most of our trash comes from food packaging

Many lunch items come in single-serving disposable containers

A lot of kids bring lunch in disposable bags

What is the problem with most school lunches?

Disposable lunch1. Sandwiches sealed in

bags2. Disposable juice boxes,

milk cartons, and water bottles

3. Paper napkins4. Paper or plastic bag to

hold lunch5. Pre-packaged yogurts,

granola bars, and fruits

Reusable lunch1. Sandwiches and fruits

packaged in reusable containers

2. Cloth napkins3. Reusable drink

containers4. Reusable lunch boxes

Waste Free lunch

Worms break-down stuff like dead plants and decaying animals and create valuable nutrients for fertile soil

If we didn’t have worms, every plant and animal that fell on the ground would remain as trash

Worms break-down all of this refuge that becomes rich soil for new seedlings

Worms are nature’s recyclers

Worms can eat our food waste and turn it intonutrient rich soil

What can you do in your home and at school to reduce

unnecessary waste?