Have you ever wondered what happens to garbage? Well, some people decided not to recycle the trash and burn it to remove it from their daily lives. Still, there’s a way that many people choose to make garbage into new things. This is where the recycling process comes out. Every piece of waste can be turned into new things. For example, garbage paper turned into cardboard, garbage metal, aluminum cans into flat iron sheets for construction, and empty garbage glass bottles turned into jars.
What is the recycling process?
The recycling process involves turning garbage into new materials. For example, cardboard is made from garbage paper, and used glass jars can be cleaned and sterilized for reuse. Recycling can benefit our community, the economy, and the environment. Trash can be recycled if it can be reused or reduced. Products like toothpaste tubes, bottles, juice boxes, and cans have recycling logos on the back or say “Recycle Me,” meaning they are made of 100% recyclable materials.
How is garbage recycled?
The recycling process has three main steps: collecting, processing, and remanufacturing. First, recyclable garbage materials like paper, glass, or clothes are collected. Then, the garbage is sent from the processing facility, where it is sorted so it can be sent to the milling or manufacturing facility. Finally, the garbage is successfully remanufactured into new ones.
What garbage items can be collected and recycled?
Garbage items that can be recycled are paper, plastics, metal cans, glass, clothing, and textiles.
Paper can be recycled by shredding it into fibers and washing it with soapy water to remove inks, plastic film, staples, and glue. Next, water and other chemicals are added to the mixture. Then, As it dries, it usually combines with virgin wood fiber, and the pulp is pressed to form paper.
Plastic can be recycled by sorting it into different colors. Next, it is chopped and melted into pellets. Then, it is transformed into fleece fabrics, durable construction materials, molded furniture, and more.
Metal can be recycled by chopping it into small pieces and heating it. Next, after being filtered, the molten metal is poured into ingots, which are into flat iron sheets and ready to be made into new metal products.
Glass can be recycled by sorting it into different colors. Next, it is washed to remove impurities. Then, the glass is crushed and mixed with sand, soda ash, and limestone. This mixture is then melted and molded into new materials such as bottles and jars.
Textiles and clothing are collected and sorted by type and color. Next, they are shredded into fibers and blended with other fibers. The blended mixture is then cleaned and spun for weaving and knitting. Fibers can also be compressed for mattress production.
Why is this process perfect for our environment?
Recycling helps to reduce the need for landfills and more costly forms of disposal. It can also reduce the need for extracting (mining, quarrying, and logging), refining, and processing raw materials which creates substantial air and water pollution. This helps to save energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping to tackle climate change.
Tips:
Try to recycle as many things into new things as possible.
If you have broken electronic things like broken computers or phones, you can send these things to the e-waste companies and earn some money or collect garbage things and send them to the recycling companies to give you money.
If you don’t want to send trash like tin cans and tubs from recycling companies, you can reuse them. For example, make cans as your flower pot and make tubs for storage or leftover food.
Make sure that your neighbors or strangers do not burn garbage because they release some harmful toxins that pollute our air, instead try to make strangers recycle their garbage or give their garbage to the recycling companies so neighbors earn money.
About the Author
Hi, my name is Derek Linesis, and I live in the Philippines. Since the pandemic started, I have been writing and sharing narratives, poems, and stories. Gaming is my hobby because it’s fun, and I also enjoy baking cookies, which are my favorite snack. Every Saturday, I post gameplay and insane fights on YouTube.