Recycling is an activity that, even if it may not seem like it, has many years of history. Even so, it had always been done in situations of scarcity of some resource, such as paper, but it was not until the nineteenth century that recycling began to take on a bit of relevance. Since that time, but especially in the last three decades, both the world population and all the waste produced by it have increased in a disproportionate way, which is why recycling has also been playing a very prominent role in our day-to-day life.
So, in this AgroCorrn article we will explain what recycling is and how important it is, in addition to making special mention of recycling that takes place in the green container, indicating which waste can be disposed of and which cannot. Do you want to know what can be recycled in the green container ? Read on and find out!
- What is recycling and how important is it?
- What can really be recycled in the green bin
- How glass is recycled
Index
What is recycling and how important is it?
Recycling is a process that consists of obtaining a new raw material or product from the transformation of disused materials that are used in our daily lives, such as glass, paper, plastics or aluminum. This happens from a physicochemical or mechanical process, in which an attempt is made to reuse and extend the life cycle of a product . In this way, materials are saved and the environment also benefits, since it is being severely exploited by humans. Waste production has doubled in the last three decades, so planet Earth is becoming a huge garbage dump, and the simplest way to start reducing waste is recycling.
Recycling has a simple procedure. The first step is carried out from the houses or industries , where the first classification is carried out (plastic, glass, paper, organic and waste). Subsequently, public and private companies are in charge of collecting this waste and transferring it to recycling plants. Once there is where an exhaustive separation of the waste is carried out , and from there they are classified according to the nature of each waste. Subsequently, depending on how these remains are classified, they will be transferred to the valuation plants, to the final recycling plants or to create energy in the biogas plants.
In summary, we can say that recycling has many advantages for the environment and for the management that humans do of our products, both those that are already used, and those that will be manufactured soon. In this way, the life cycle of many products is lengthened and the production of other new products is reduced, but there are also many other advantages, such as that it helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions , which are mainly responsible for the global warming.
What can really be recycled in the green bin
In the green container it is specially destined to recycle glass containers . Thus, bottles of water, wine, spirits, juices and many other types of products may be deposited, as long as the plastic, cork or metal stoppers are separated and recycled in the corresponding containers. You can also deposit jars, such as perfumes, colognes or creams, and jars, such as preserves or jam.
Regarding the most common mistakes, the main one is mistaking glass for glass . This happens because they are very similar materials, but the big difference is that the glass has a component called lead oxide, and this prevents both materials from being mixed and melted in the same furnace.
There is also a lot of confusion when it comes to recycling light bulbs, mirrors, glasses, dishes or even ashtrays, since many people deposit them in the green container. Actually, these materials must be taken to a collection center or to a clean point , which is a controlled municipal-owned facility where much household waste is collected for free.
In Spain there is one green container for every 213 inhabitants , where this type of recycling began to be carried out some thirty years ago. The first glass container was deposited in Barcelona in 1982, and it was the first recycling container that arrived in our country. The companies dedicated to this part of recycling have grown by more than 200% since 1998. Currently Spain is one of the countries with the best ratio of containers.
How glass is recycled
This type of recycling is one of the simplest, since glass is a material that has the ideal characteristics to be reused . This is because it can be infinitely recycled without losing any of its properties.
Once glass containers have been collected, they are taken to the recycling plant, where an initial cleaning is carried out (labels and other non-glass elements are removed) and they are separated by type and color. All the material is then crushed, transported and stored in the foundry factory. There a final cleaning is carried out and the glass is subsequently transferred to an oven, where it melts at high temperatures . Finally, the molten material is deposited in a molding machine where new glass containers take shape, such as bottles, light bulbs, jars, etc.
If you want to read more articles similar to What can be recycled in the green container , we recommend that you enter our Recycling and waste management category .
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