This and more information is found on the Barcelona city website: But for now, we’ll lay the basics of what is recyclable and what is not in each of the colored recycling bins: yellow, green blue and brown. This Metropolitan series on recycling will cover each category of recyclable waste in more depth. Comparing greenhouse gas emissions from post-consumer plastic recycling with the equivalent amount of virgin plastic production, the researchers quantified emissions savings of 70% to 80% in the recycling scenario. A group of Italian scientists performed an analysis of different recycling methods, as compared to landfilling or combustion. That could mean an annual savings of 30 to 150 million tons of CO2. Estimates vary with the type of recycling process used, but there is consensus that recycling and remanufacturing plastic saves at least 30% of the carbon emissions that original processing and manufacturing produce. Additionally, if paper is recycled it won't end up in landfills where it would then degrade and release methane.Īs it concerns plastic recycling, the Stanford Magazine reports that study after study reveals that recycling surpasses virgin production of plastics on all environmental measurements, especially when it comes to carbon emissions. Production of recycled paper uses 50% less water than raw material paper production, reducing the amount of methane and nitrous oxide released in the wastewater. Methane and nitrous oxide, both greenhouse gases, are emitted during wastewater treatment. Each tree helps reduce global warming by capturing and holding carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees from being cut down. Lower energy consumption results in reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, 65% less energy is consumed in the production of paper using recycled materials versus when raw materials are used. According to the pulp and paper industry is the 5th largest industrial consumer of energy. However, these percentages do not comply with the current hierarchy of priorities established by the European Union, which prioritizes the minimization, reuse and recycling of waste above dumping in landfills, as is currently the practice.Īpart from reducing the volume of waste that goes to landfills, the question remains: Does recycling really have an impact on global warming?Ĭonsider just the recycling of paper and plastics. Specifically, 13.5% is used to generate energy, 18.3% is recycled and 11.5% is used for composting. EAE Business School released a report entitled “Waste Management and the Circular Economy” concluding that, in Spain, 56.7% of waste is dumped in landfills, while 43.3% is recycled or reused. In Spain in 2016, approximately 18 kg of plastic per person were recycled but, about 23 kg were landfilled. In addition, less than one percent of these used plastic bags are recycled correctly. In Spain, only 14% of the plastic waste that is generated is collected for recycling.īy the end of this year, we will have used 500 billion plastic bags of which, five million will go to the ocean. Read our detailed guide to organising your own litter picking activity.Figures published in the journal Science in 2015 indicate that somewhere between 4.8 and 12.7 million tons of plastic enter the ocean each year. If you think your collection has been missed, we offer further information on disruption to our services, and how to report a missed bin. See if you qualify for a larger household waste bin. Larger household waste and recycling bins If you are not able to put out your bin for collection, you could qualify for help. We run a fortnightly garden waste collection service between March and November. We operate a paid-for collection service for larger items. We offer a competitive trade waste collection service for businesses. View your collection calendar here and please put your waste out for collection before 7am. We collect household waste from around 33,000 homes. Our kerbside recycling collections recently changed, and now used wheeled bins - you can go straight to our list of FAQs. Our recycling page has lots of information on recycling, including our kerbside service, a list of recycling points, and help with how to reduce, reuse and recycle.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |