INDO-RECYCLE The Indonesian Recycle Company

You just consumed a pretty normal lunch; a sandwich and a bottle of soda pop served on a paper plate. When you are finished, you throw everything in the garbage for a quick clean up. You were probably aware that the paper plate and the paper napkin were biodegradable and that eventually they would decompose and return to the soil. But were you aware that the soda pop bottle you threw out in the garbage will be in the landfill a million years from now? Putting that into perspective, man appeared on earth 100,000 years ago and recorded history only goes back 10,000 years. The decision not to recycle that glass will impact an earth that none of us can even imagine.

Is Recycling worth the effort? Most definately. Glass recycling has many more pros than cons, and glass recycling is popular for many reasons.

80 percent of the recycled glass is used to produce new glass containers.

Glass can be recycled indefinitely to make new glass.

Making new glass bottles from recycled glass uses less energy and creates less pollution.

It is non toxic and will not contaminate our environment even if it does end up in a landfill.

There is a rapid turnaround time. Within a month of recycling that soda pop bottle can be back on the shelves as another glass product.

Some glass products have a bottle-deposit law and may give you cash for beverage containers you return.

In most cases, the cost of curbside recycling is less than that of trash collection.

Recycled glass needs less heat to process into new glass, so the furnaces last longer.

While there are many positive reasons for recycling glass, there are also negatives.

There are high costs involved in transporting the recycled glass to the re-manufacturing plant.

Consumers often add non-recyclable glass to the recyclable glass resulting in a less that pure product.

Much of the glass is used in commercial establishments is not recycled and ends up in landfills.

Glass must be sorted into colors to be recycled.

In order to keep the recycled glass pure, high costs are involved in purchasing machinery that will detect contaminants such as “Pyrex” and will sort the processed glass according to color.

Glass is used for a number of other products such as mirrors, Pyrex brand cookware, light bulbs, countertops and flooring materials. None of these products can be used to recycle glass, and if mixed with recyclable glass, will contaminate the final product.

Overall, glass recycling is beneficial. It saves resources and the environment, and since glass does not biodegrade, recycling will keep it out of the landfills where it will last forever.

Even if the cost of recycling is more than the cost of trash removal, we can’t continue to fill our planet with trash. Eventually we will run out of room! Finding ways to reduce the amount of glass we use, reuse the glass that we do use for other purposes, and when we do dispose of the glass, be sure to recycle.
About the Author
Beverly Saltonstall is an environmental writer. Visit http://totalrecyclingwebsite.com for news, podcasts, articles and guides covering many aspects of recycling. To understand recycling, read Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Recycling, But Never Dared to Ask. (available on website)

Recycling is not so hard, yet it is one of the best ways you can do something positive for the environment. Your home is one place where you can find plenty of items to recycle. If you have the room, you can even set out labeled containers and use them to sort recyclable items. Plastic garbage cans are perfect for this project.

The easiest items to sort are plastic, glass and cardboard. If you drink soda pop from aluminum cans, there should be a container especially for those cans. While you are at it, check with your local schools and churches to see if they collect the pop tops from these cans. Another use for the pop tops is to make household items. A Google search can give you ideas on what can be made with aluminum pop tops. Novica, a division of National Geographic sells beautifully crafted purses from aluminum pop tops.

Most towns have recycling centers. Find out where the one in your community is located so you can dispose of your recycled material properly. Towns often have a day set aside for hazardous waste disposal. Check to see what items they take and have a container especially for those items. Extreme care should be taken in storing hazardous wastes.

Towns that don’t have a recycling center may have large containers in a designated area where you can bring recyclables. These containers are emptied on a regular schedule.

Since you know why recycling is important, if your town doesn’t have recycling containers, or a recycling center, you need to find out why. Contact your government officials, either in person or by writing them a letter, to voice your concerns over the fact that recycling is not available for the citizens. If containers are not readily available, people will not be motivated to recycle.

Once you have your recycling program at home working, consider expanding your recycling efforts to your workplace and your schools. If you have children, they should be taught at an early age to recycle. After all, recycling is important for their future. Schools must have recycling programs in place to set a good example. Creative recycling programs are very exciting for children, and this excitement is often brought to the home. Parents are then encouraged by the children to recycle.

Offices and health care facilities are one of the largest consumers of our natural resources, yet many of these facilities do not have an active recycling program.

People need to be educated on why recycling is important and the benefits it has for our environment. The same items that are recycled at home can easily be recycled in the work place. Encouraging employees to avoid the use of paper cups and plastic water bottles (unless they are refilled at home), and to recycle computer paper and aluminum cans.

In order to complete the cycle of reduce, recycle, and reuse, purchasing products that have been made from recycled products is a must. Buying paper products, such as greeting cards, napkins, and computer paper that are made from recycled paper is essential to complete the cycle. Your use of these products shows your support for the recycling effort.

Another simple way to help the environment is by using “green” bags instead of plastic bags when you are grocery shopping. Every bit of plastic that has ever been manufactured is still in existence. Plastic takes hundreds of years to degrade. A reusable grocery bag helps keep those plastic bags out of the landfills.

Everyone is beginning to realize why recycling is important, but many people can’t be bothered to recycle. Education and readily available recycling centers is essential if we are to save this environment.
About the Author
Beverly Saltonstall is an environmental writer.  Visit http://totalrecyclingwebsite.com for news, podcasts, articles and guides covering many aspects of recycling. To understand recycling, read Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Recycling, But Never Dared to Ask. (available on website)