Recycling

Recycling

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

There are three key factors when thinking about how to recycle – The 3 R’s:

Benefits of Recycling

  • Reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators
  • Conserves natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals
  • Increases economic security by tapping a domestic source of materials
  • Prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials
  • Saves energy
  • Supports American manufacturing and conserves valuable resources
  • Helps create jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries in Malta

Recycling Different Materials

You can find out how to recycle different materials such as Glass, Batteries and Mobile Phones by simply using our list on the right-hand side.

What’s in your Rubbish Bin?

A large percentage of Malta household’s still do not recycle enough and throw everything that they consider ‘rubbish’ into their ordinary bin.

Much of this waste can be recycled and should be disposed of separately to general household waste. Look inside this rubbish bin to see how much of the contents should actually have been recycled. Check our list on the right to see how to recycle different materials.

 

Recycling facts and figures

Recycling is an excellent way of saving energy and conserving the environment. Did you know that:

  • 1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours.
  • 1 recycled glass bottle would save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.
  • 1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for 3 hours.
  • 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials.

 

Some Interesting Facts

  • Up to 60% of the rubbish that ends up in the dustbin could be recycled.
  • The unreleased energy contained in the average dustbin each year could power a television for 5,000 hours.
  • The largest lake in the Britain could be filled with rubbish from the UK in 8 months.
  • On average, 16% of the money you spend on a product pays for the packaging, which ultimately ends up as rubbish.
  • As much as 50% of waste in the average dustbin could be composted.
  • Up to 80% of a vehicle can be recycled.
  • 9 out of 10 people would recycle more if it were made easier.

Aluminium

  • 2 million tonnes of aluminium is used up as packaging Malta.
  • If all cans in the UK were recycled, we would need 14 million fewer dustbins.
  • €3,000,000 worth of aluminium is thrown away each year in Malta.
  • Aluminium cans can be recycled and ready to use in just 6 weeks.

Glass

  • Each Maltese family uses an average of 500 glass bottles and jars annually.
  • The largest glass furnace produces over 1 million glass bottles and jars per day.
  • Glass is 100% recyclable and can be used again and again.
  • Glass that is thrown away and ends up in landfills will never decompose.

Paper

  • Recycled paper produces 73% less air pollution than if it was made from raw materials.
  • 4.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard are used annually in Malta.
  • The average person gets through 38kg of newspapers per year.
  • It takes 24 trees to make 1 ton of newspaper.

Plastic

  • 75,000 tonnes of plastic are used each year in Malta.
  • Most families throw away about 40kg of plastic per year, which could otherwise be recycled.
  • The use of plastic in Western Europe is growing about 4% each year.
  • Plastic can take up to 500 years to decompose.

Recycling is Important

Recycling is one of the best ways for you to have a positive impact on the world in which we live. Recycling is important to both the natural environment and us. We must act fast as the amount of waste we create is increasing all the time.

The amount of rubbish we create is constantly increasing because:

  • Increasing wealth means that people are buying more products and ultimately creating more waste.
  • Increasing population means that there are more people on the planet to create waste.
  • New packaging and technological products are being developed, much of these products contain materials that are not biodegradable.
  • New lifestyle changes, such as eating fast food, means that we create additional waste that isn’t biodegradable.

Environmental Importance

Recycling is very important as waste has a huge negative impact on the natural environment.

  • Harmful chemicals and greenhouse gasses are released from rubbish in landfill sites. Recycling helps to reduce the pollution caused by waste.
  • Habitat destruction and global warming are some the affects caused by deforestation. Recycling reduces the need for raw materials so that the rainforests can be preserved.
  • Huge amounts of energy are used when making products from raw materials. Recycling requires much less energy and therefore helps to preserve natural resources.

Importance To People

Recycling is essential to cities around the world and to the people living in them.

No space for waste. Our landfill sites are filling up fast, by 2010, almost all landfills in the UK will be full.
Reduce financial expenditure in the economy. Making products from raw materials costs much more than if they were made from recycled products.
Preserve natural resources for future generations. Recycling reduces the need for raw materials; it also uses less energy, therefore preserving natural resources for the future.