Recycling is the process of collecting and turning substances into new goods that would otherwise be thrown away as waste. Both the environment and society may benefit from recycling. Single-use plastics are widely used in our daily lives.
However, their widespread use can also have an adverse effect by disrupting the nature around us. For instance, it may take up to 1000 years for a plastic object to degrade. Due to this, many nations have made a commitment to permanently ban single-use plastic products.
Benefits of recycling:
- Less garbage is disposed of in landfills and burned in incinerators.
- It conserves natural resources including water, minerals, and wood.
- It uses a home supply of materials to increase economic security.
- By lowering the need to gather additional raw materials, reduces pollution.
- It conserves vital resources, supports industry, and saves energy.
- It helps to create jobs in the manufacturing and recycling industries.
The only way to tackle environmental problems is to reap what we sow. In order to reduce, recycle and reuse multiple things can be done.
Here are few of the ways to utilize “trash” at home:
1. Plastic Bottles
The worst type of enemy one may have indoors is plastic water bottles. After use, plastic bottles are frequently disposed of carelessly by people, which harm the environment. Plastic bottles can be useful if a little imagination is applied. You may, for instance, cut the bottom halves off of the plastic bottles and place seedlings inside. These clever plant stands are simple to make and a wonderful addition to your outdoor area.
2. Aluminium Foil
In our daily lives, aluminum foil is used in a variety of ways and occasionally comes in quite helpful. The fact that they are not biodegradable, like unused plastic objects, is a drawback. However, there are ways to recycle and reuse aluminum foil rather than throwing it away after just one use. For example, you can utilize the foil as a reflector by placing it behind shade-loving plants.
3. Composting
Often, without realizing it, we frequently toss the unwanted parts of fruits and vegetables after purchasing them. To easily store your compostable food leftovers for use in your garden later, use a countertop composter. Why not make use of the non-edible components as well? After all, you are paying for the entire fruit or vegetable. The compost will act as a healthy nutrient addition to your home plants.
4. Build an Eco-brick
Since plastic bottles can only be recycled so many times, many of them wind up in landfills every year. You may therefore use them to create cool eco-bricks rather than simply throwing them away. These bricks can be used to construct modular furniture, as yard decor, as a paperweight, among other things. Spruce up your home with a futuristic look.
5. Segregate your wet and dry waste
Don’t just combine all of your rubbish at once. You must plan for the disposal of dry and wet garbage separately. Tea bags, leftover meals, and fruit and vegetable peels are examples of wet waste. Dry waste consists of items like glass, metal, and wood. Wet garbage, can be recycled in your compost bin, whereas dry waste typically ends up in landfills. In order to protect the ecology, garbage should be separated properly.
6. Reuse Your Home Delivered Newspaper
This recycling method is excellent for you if you’re one of those people who routinely has their newspapers delivered. You can use your old newspapers as packing paper to wrap gifts or fragile objects rather than storing them. You can also use a newspaper as a cleaning tool by combining water with a little white vinegar to quickly and easily remove spots from your windows.
Here are some tips on recycling and repurposing when in office, to save and preserve energy. A daily office routine creates way more junk than a household in a month or maybe months.
- Recycled paper
Print on both sides of the paper while using it in the office, and then recycle it when you’re done. 17 trees, nearly 7,000 gallons of water, and more than three cubic yards of landfill space can all be spared by recycling one ton of paper.
- Recycle outdated technology
Recycle your outdated device to prevent contributing to e-waste. Make recycling containers accessible. Make sure you have recycling containers for paper, plastic, and metal in both your house and place of business. Label them correctly and keep them visible. Sometimes all that is required is the element of convenience.
- Buy remanufactured cartridges
A half-gallon of oil is saved and nearly 2.5 pounds of metal and plastic are kept out of landfills for every remanufactured cartridge.
- Recycle old newspapers
After reading the newspaper, either recycle it or leave it for someone else to read.
- Recycle logo
Paper isn’t the only recycle-able item in store. Look for products which are labeled as recycled or recycle-able.
- Buy rechargeable batteries
One rechargeable battery lasts 1,000 normal batteries, on average. Recycle your batteries, avoid using throw-able batteries.
- CDs and DVDs
Invest in rewriteable CDs and DVDs so you may utilize them for other projects.
- Cups and Coffee
To save on trash, get a cup rather of using paper or Styrofoam while drinking coffee, tea or any hot or cold beverage.
Additionally, the following are some popular items that can be manufactured from recycled materials:
- Aluminum cans
- Car bumpers
- Carpeting
- Cereal boxes
- Comic books
- Egg cartons
- Glass containers
- Laundry detergent bottles
- Motor oil
- Nails
- Newspapers
- Paper towels
- Steel products
- Trash bags
To conclude, you can start the good habit of using eco-friendly alternatives instead of plastic products. We can start by swapping out your plastic toothbrushes for biodegradable ones, cotton swabs with plastic stems for paper ones, and straws for reusable biodegradable bamboo ones, to mention a few.
India will only grow holistically when all the factors of growth are taken in consideration. Sustainability should be at the top most priority for the nation right now. Only we can change the ecological biodiversity of nature and bring it back to its true form.