Recycling is being talked about a lot these days, and a great deal is being done about it. Often people relate recycling to the environmental movement that took place in the 1970’s. However, recycling is not a modern term; its history can be dated back to thousands of years. People have been recycling since 400 BC. In the Byzantine times, glass was recycled, and the Romans recycled their bronze coins. During the ancient times, melting swords, pots and other metal goods was a common practice.

Before the industrial age, making quick and affordable goods wasn’t an easy task, hence people used to carry out recycling in some form or the other. Mass recycling was very rare during those times, but was performed commonly in homes. In Britain, people used to collect dust and ash from coal and wood fires to make bricks.

The onset of industrialization created a demand for affordable goods and mass production. This also led to the need for large scale recycling. The main concept behind large scale recycling during the industrial revolution came from the fact that goods were available cheaply and hence throwing away old items became a common practice. Anytime the world saw an economic collapse, people would look for ways of recycling.

During World War II, shortage of materials made recycling a necessity. Many countries urged its people to preserve fibers and donate metal for recycling. These recycled materials were used in households and also sent overseas for use at the warfront. Even after the war, recycling continued in certain countries while it was a forgotten story in many others.

But after the 1970’s environmental movement, people became conscious about saving the environment. The introduction of the universal symbol for recycling was a major milestone achieved in the history of recycling. The rise in the cost of energy during the 1970’s also increased the awareness and need for recycling.

Leaving the man-made history of recycling aside, nature itself has been recycling dead leaves and dead organic matter for the betterment of humankind since the earth was formed. Recycling is a lesson that all of us need to learn from nature and incorporate into our individual lives.

Living green is a lifestyle choice today. If we carefully observe, we will realize that almost 60% of the household items can easily be recycled. Recycling is an easy and helpful process that once put into practice consumes very little of your time. The most important step of putting the waste into the bin though, is just not enough for recycling!

1.       Know what can be Recycled. Recyclable material can be broadly divided into paper, glass, plastics and metals.

2.       Know what Recycling Program is available in your city

Recycling centers offer three types of services namely:

All in one pick up: This is the easiest for the consumer but a bit tedious for the recycling center. All the material to be recycled can be put in a single container and is separated at the recycling center.

Sorted pick up: This is the most common type of service offered by recycling centers. The consumer is required to assort the recyclable items into different categories such as paper, glass or plastic, etc.

Self-service: In some cities, consumers have to travel to the recycling center to deliver the items to be recycled.

3.       Know where these Recyclable materials are found

Plastics are the most important material that should be recycled. However, not every type of plastic can be recycled. Plastic in the form of bottles, containers and bags can be conveniently recycled. Plastic containers that contain toxic materials like motor oil, Styrofoam, toys and airbags cannot be recycled. The best way to handle these products is to avoid using them.

Almost all forms of papers, such as newspaper, paper cuts, magazines, books and washed paper cups and plates can be recycled. Currently most facial tissues, pizza boxes and soiled paper towels should not be recycled.

Metals such as steel, tin and aluminium can be recycled. However, before sending for recycling, the cans should be cleaned. Hangers, paint containers, containers with helium, aluminium foil and scrap metal like nails, screws, etc. cannot be recycled. Today beverage cans made of aluminium are the most easily recyclable items.

Glass containers, glass bottles and jars can all be put in the recycling bin. Dishware, glasses, cups, mirrors and decorative and ornamental glass items are not recyclable.

Keeping in mind these basic essentials about recycling, they will add value and efficiency to your local recycling system. Every city has their own recycling programs and it is important to learn about the city specific program and the services that it offers.

Everyone has heard about recycling and how important it is. Today, most cities have a recycling program, making it easy for people to recycle items that have already been used. Many business owners have also taken up recycling. If you still haven’t taken up the habit of recycling, here are some basics that you should know, as well as some of the benefits that the process can do for the environment.

1. It’s easy! Once people realize that recycling is not a difficult task, they are willing to adapt to making the changes.
2. Economic growth! Businesses can save money by purchasing recycled material and by practicing recycling. Recycling also creates job opportunities.
3. The conservation of natural resources: Before recycling was practiced, almost everything was put in landfills. Recycling prevents this and also prevents usage of natural resources for creating products from new raw material.
4. Reducing the cost of production: Producing goods from new raw materials can be expensive, but manufacturing goods from recycled products is much more affordable.
5. Reducing pollution! Practicing recycling reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases by almost 30%. Put simply, recycling saves energy and produces less carbon dioxide emissions in comparison to any other means of waste management, hence reducing air pollution.
6. Save the trees! The need for paper will always be there, and the raw material for paper comes from trees. Paper can easily be recycled about 5 to 7 times before its fibres become weak. Recycling paper and using recycled paper can reduce the number of trees that are cut for producing paper.
7. The reduction of mining and hence the risk of diseases: Recycling metal can considerably reduce the requirement of mining. Recycling of steel prevents the mining of iron ore and coal. Aluminium is the most easily recyclable metal.

Recycling is a highly environmental friendly activity that can make the earth a better place to live in. Glass, metal, paper and plastic are the most commonly recyclable materials. Start today! recycling can make a considerable difference and help save our environment.

If you have started recycling your household waste, you have taken the first step towards saving the planet. There has been a drive for recycling for over two decades and a lot of developments have been made this to be more effective.

Recycling has a number of benefits, the most important one being the conservation of the environment and energy. There are a number of facts that can justify why we should all practice recycling.

Recycling is a pretty simple process and when put into practice it does not take much time. If there is a company that comes to your home or office to pick up old and used items then there is very little you need to do. Here are some quick facts that you should know about recycling.

• Recycling tin cans can save up to 74% of the energy that is used in their manufacture
• Steel plants that make use of recycled items can reduce contamination of the environment by almost 70%
• When compared to making use of manufacturing plastic from raw materials, recycled plastic saves around 88% of energy
• Almost 17 trees can be saved by recycling a ton of paper

When you consider recycling:

1. First search for a recycling service close to your office or home.
2. Ask them whether they have a pick up facility, or you will have to drop the recyclable items at the site.

When sending items for recycling, keep these simple things in mind:

3. Clean out containers and rinse them before giving them for recycling. Remember to remove all the food from the container.
4. It is better to put different type of materials into different containers. You can simply put the plastics, glass and metals in one container, and cards, papers and textiles in another.
5. It is always better to crush metal cans and squeeze the plastic bottles in order to remove the air.
6. It is important to remove lids and plastic caps from plastic bottles and containers before giving for recycling, as they have a different melting point.
7. When giving paper and cards for recycling, ensure that staples, clips and tape are removed from it.

Recycling can help conserve resources. When we make use of recycled products, it reduces the consumption of natural resources for making newer products, hence conserving the resources. Recycling helps reduce landfills and also diminishes pollution.

So what are you waiting for? Start doing your part in conserving our environment.