My whole life I have been told how important it is to recycle. For some reason though, I have never thought to ask why. I have a feeling I am not the only one either. I am writing this post to help inform myself as well as others on why recycling is so incredibly important. Why should I take the time to separate it? What can I recycle?
What are We Recycling?
I found out from the Waste Management website what exactly we can be recycling. I was amazed by some of the statistics they had on there.
Metals: Americans now discard about 2.7 million tons of aluminum per year and only about 50% of it is recycled. We can save an enormous amount of energy by recycling. For instance, recycling aluminum and tins can will save about 74% of the energy used to make them!
Paper/Cardboard: There is about 71 million tons of paper that is used every year here in America; that is 29% of our municipal waste! The good news is that most people are aware of their paper products so approximately 63% get recycled.
Glass: Did you know that most of the jars in America now contain about 27% recycled glass? I think that is wonderful that we are slowly working our way to being more recycling friendly.
Plastics: While plastic is convenient, it takes resources and contributes waste to our environment. It is crucial that your plastics are clean when you recycle them. One contaminated container can completely ruin an entire barrel!
Batteries/Bulbs: You need to be careful when recycling these items. Be sure to figure out the proper way of disposing them in your community. You can also make an effort by switching to rechargeable batteries.
Electronics: Often called “e-waste”, electronics contain a lot of chemical and mineral elements that can be recycled. If they are recycled properly, they can become a valuable source of materials.
What Happens to Our Recycling?
When I really started thinking about how to recycle, my next question was “What actually happens to our recycled materials?”. Once our recyclables are picked up, they are brought to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Once at MRF everything is then sorted and separated into their different materials. One these items have been collected and sorted they become valuable to people in the worldwide market. I was shocked by how simple of a process this really was.
AVEDA puts on a “CaAVEDA makes a point of using a high percentage of post-consumer recycled materials in their packaging. I think this is just one more way that AVEDA is a stop above the rest. Stop into the salon today to pick up your recyclable products!
Until Next Time,
Josie 🙂