Recycling wrong!
Making mistakes while recycling can cause up to 25% of recyclables to be sent to landfill instead of being processed even if the materials themselves are recyclable. Many households across the UK unknowingly make common recycling mistakes that result in a huge amount of waste ending up in landfills instead of being recycled. One of the most common mistakes is not rinsing food containers properly before putting them into the recycling bin. This can cause contamination among other recycling items. Another common mistake is when people put items into the recycling when they're not 100% sure if it can be recycled. For example, coffe cups, used pizza boxes and broken glass. Making these mistakes can result in the entire recycling load to be sent for disposal instead of being recycled. Ways to avoid recycling wrong is to do research before throwing anything into the bin. This can help make sure that all the items are being fully recycled.
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Why is recycling important?
Recycling provides lots of benefits to our environment. By recycling our materials, we create a healthier planet for ourselves and future generations. Recycling stops tonnes of waste being buried in landfill. In the UK, recycling saves about 10-15 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year, the equivalent of taking 3.5 million cars off the road. Recycling also saves lots of energy as less energy is required for producing products using recycling materials. Recycling saves non-renewable resources such as paper. If paper gets recylced that means there will be less trees getting cut down. Natural resources are being depleted and landfills are being filled at an increasing rate and to stop this from happening everyone has to be made aware about recycling. In 2020 The UK generated 191.2 million tonnes of total waste. In 2022, the UK’s overall recycling rate was 44.1% which is a slight improvment from 2021. This year the UK targets to reach 55% by the end of 2025.
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