subject: A Review Of Today's Popular Recycling Programs [print this page] As more and more people worry about the state of the planet, many are now actively advocating about the need to conserve, and wisely use our precious natural resource. Recycling is one of the most popular conservation programs today. It involves the re-processing of old and used materials into new or reusable products. A lot of materials can be recycled.
Apart from metal, glass, plastic, aluminum, textiles, paper and electronics, organic wastes can also be composted and made into fertilizer. Rubber tires can now also be shredded and turned into insulation, erosion barriers and other unique products. Here's a review of the popular and widely-accepted recycling programs of today.
In the US and elsewhere around the world, recycling and waste-recover programs take different forms. The United States recycles as much as thirty percent of its solid waste; European countries like Sweden, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands however have recycling rates of as high as 60 percent. Here's a look at the most popular recycling programs today.
Drop-Off Centers For Recyclables
A drop-off center refers to a central location that's established to accept different types of recyclable materials. Even if a town or city has special curbside pick-up points, consumers may wish to transport their used materials here, especially if they have hazardous or toxic materials at home, and don't know how to safely store these.
Curbside Pick-Up Points
In a curbside recyclable pick-up program, specially-fitted trucks with separate containers roam the streets just like garbage trucks. Garbage-disposal crews then sort the materials that are thrown into the truck. However, some towns and cities require their residents to first sort the recyclables themselves, to make it easier for garbage crews to handle the recyclables.
Refund or Deposit Programs
This program is popular in the US, especially for buyers of canned or bottled beverages. The beverage bottles or cans have a deposit added to the purchase price. Consumers may return the empty can or bottle to a collection facility, and redeem the deposit, which usually goes from one to five cents.
Buy-Back Centers
These recycling centers operate in the same way as drop-off centers. However, these pay homeowners or consumers a price that's based on the market value of their items.
Recycling offers a wide array of economic and environmental benefits. Recycling can help save millions of dollars from city or municipal budgets, because there's less demand for landfills or new garbage collection trucks. Recycling can also generate as much income per ton as a landfill, and also generates six times as many jobs. A wide array of used consumer items are also collected and converted back into raw material, and are remade into new items or products.
This generates considerable savings for both manufacturers and consumers, and significantly reduces the volume of trash disposed in landfills.
