The Gains Of Recycling.

How much trash do you produce? Think of all the things you throw away: juice bottles, soda cans, candy wrappers and it all adds up. 

Most of this trash gets buried in big holes in the ground called landfills. A lot of this garbage can be recycled, or turned back into something useful. Just about any material can be recycled. The main things we recycle today are made from metal, paper, glass, or plastic.

People recycle for many reasons. One of the main reasons is to conserve resources. Making new aluminum cans out of old ones means less aluminum is needed for new cans. This leads to a second reason people recycle to save energy. Recycling old aluminum cans takes a lot less energy than making new aluminum. To make new aluminum, you need to mine metal ore from the ground, remove the impurities, and refine it into a finished metal.

Recycling also conserves valuable land. By recycling, we produce less garbage. That means fewer landfills are needed for dumping our trash.

Because metals are somewhat costly to make, they are the world�s most recycled materials. About two-thirds of all steel is recycled. Steel cans and scrap steel go to recycling plants where the steel is melted down. The steel is then treated with chemicals to make it pure again. Finally, it is formed into sheets or bars. These are shipped to companies that make new cans and other steel objects. Almost all beverage cans are made of aluminum. Empty cans are sent to special factories. There, they are cleaned, melted, and rolled into new sheets of aluminum.

 

Glass can be recycled, too. Recyclers must take extra effort to recycle glass. First, only bottle glass can be melted and made into new glass. Second, different colors of glass must be melted separately. This means bottles must be separated by color before they can be recycled. 

Used paper can be recycled, to make new paper. 

Seven types of plastics are used to make containers and other objects for consumers. Only three types of plastic can be recycled. Each is treated in a different way. One type can be made into filling for ski jackets. Another type can be made into milk jugs. If mixed together, however, these plastics can�t be recycled. Plastic objects must be stamped with a number from 1 to 7. The number shows which type of plastic it is. The plastic can then be separated more easily before it�s recycled. 

Some wastes cannot be thrown into landfills. They are too dangerous and must be recycled or disposed of in special ways. Hazardous wastes include paint, antifreeze, medical wastes, and old tires. The most commonly recycled hazardous wastes are cleaning fluids and used motor oil. 

Recycling help to to keep the environment clean, conserve resources and reduce energy consumption.