Young Recyclers

It's a Waste..

What is waste?

Waste can be anything that we no longer have a use for ourselves. However, just because we no longer have a use for something it does not mean that it is no longer of use, over 50% of the waste in our bin can be recycled.

What is in our bins?

Where does it all go?

Our waste has three main disposal routes:

• 83% goes to landfill.

• 8% is incinerated.

• 9% is recycled.

What is Landfill?

Simply landfill sites are big holes in the ground where we put our waste, such as old quarries. Big machinery squash down the waste and when the hole is full it is covered over with soil and left. There are lots of problems with using landfill to get rid of our waste.

What is incineration?

Incinerating our waste means that we burn it to get rid of it. We can produce heat and energy through this but, it can also cause pollution.

What is Recycling?

When we recycle we use waste to make new products, creating useful things out of useless waste.

Why should we recycle?

There are many reasons why we should recycle including:

• The recycling of some materials can produce less pollution than using raw materials.

• To reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill.

• To save valuable natural resources.

• To save energy.

• Recycling more will reduce the need to build incinerators, these may produce chemicals harmful to our health.

What can we recycle?

We can recycle lots of materials that we throw away each week. Such as:

PAPER      METAL CANS and FOIL

PLASTIC BOTTLES      GLASS       TEXTILES