What is Recyclable?

Image courtesy morgueFile Aluminum cans are unloaded at the recycling center.

Almost anything can be recycled, but certain things are more common. Obviously, paper is a popular recyclable – and for good reason. Recycled paper results in a significant net savings in terms of water and energy used, as well as pollutants emitted into the environment. From curbside and workplace collections, paper is sorted based on the type of paper, how heavy it is, what it's used for, its color and whether it was previously recycled. Then a hot chemical and water bath reduces the paper to a soupy, fibrous substance. Magnets, gravity and filters then remove things like staples, glues and other unwanted chemicals from the pulp. The ink is removed either by a chemical wash, or by blowing the ink to the surface where it's skimmed off. The pulp -- which may be bleached -- is then sprayed and rolled into flat sheets, which are pressed and dried. Sometimes new pulp is added to the recycled pulp to make the paper stronger. The giant sheets of paper, when dry, are then cut into the proper size for resale back to consumers.

Recycling glass represents significant energy and cost savings over making virgin glass, because there's virtually no down-cycling when glass is recycled. There are two ways to recycle glass. Some companies collect bottles from their customers and thoroughly wash and disinfect them before reuse. Other glass recyclers sort the glass by color (clear, green and brown glass shouldn't mix because it'll give it a mottled effect). The glass is ground up into fine bits known as cullet, thoroughly sifted and filtered using lasers, magnets and sifters, then melted down and reformed into new glass.

The United States recycled 51.9 billion cans in 2006. It's true that's a lot of cans, but it's actually only a little more than half of all cans used in the United States. So, we could be doing better. When recycled, cans are chopped up, then heated to remove the paint coating. The pieces melt and mix in a vortex furnace. After being filtered and treated, the molten aluminum is poured into ingots, which are rolled into flat sheets ready to be made into new cans.

Plastic is very cheap to produce, and it's not biodegradable because of its long, complex molecular chains. When plastic is recycled, it's usually made into a new form. The plastic is sorted into different types and colors, filtered and sifted of contaminants, then chopped and melted into pellets or extruded into fibers. These materials are then used in the creation of a variety of products such as fleece fabric, durable construction materials, molded furniture or insulation.

Image courtesy stock.xchng

Left in a dump, automobile tires can catch fire or break down and leach toxic compounds into soil and groundwater. Luckily, tires can be recycled. Tires are shredded and filtered of non-rubber components. What remains can be found everywhere from your front yard to the neighborhood playground to a local football or soccer field. Shredded tires can be used to create landscaping mulch. And tire "crumbs" can create a sort of fake soil used on the artificial turf of football and soccer fields. One field can use between 20,000 and 40,000 scrap tires. The rubber crumbs fill in between the artificial grass blades, providing stability to the surface and giving a softer, more natural feel.

The recycling of scrap steel from cars and old buildings has a long history in the United States. Steel is relatively easy to recycle -- giant machines shred junk cars and construction waste. In addition, U.S. law requires a certain proportion of all steel to be made with recycled steel -- all U.S. steel contains at least 25 percent recycled steel. Once sorted, scrap steel is melted down and re-refined into huge sheets or coils. These can be shipped to manufacturers to make car bodies or construction materials.

There are dozens of other materials that can be recycled. If you're looking for new ways to recycle, simply give a moment's thought when you throw something out. Could it be reused or broken down in a useful way?

Try This:
Go to this Web site: http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_plastics/doc.asp?CID=1102&DID=4644 to learn about the resin identification coding system. Create a simple table identifying each of the resin identification codes, the common household items or products that fit into each code category and the types of products that are created with the recycled material within that particular code. Once you have your table, take an inventory of items you and your family use and recycle over the course of one week. Which code represents the majority of recyclable plastics in your house?