RECYCLING

What is recycling?• ­Recycling­is­a­pretty­simple­concept!

☞­Take­something­that­isn't­useful­anymore­and­make­it­into­­­­­­­­something­new­instead­of­just­throwing­it­away.­

• ­It­will­play­a­major­role­in­the­future­of­our­planet.

• Recycling­can­take­many­forms.­On­a­small­scale,­any­time­you­find­a­new­use­for­something­old,­you're­recycling.­Recycling­becomes­more­important­on­larger­scales.

­• At­this­level,­used­consumer­goods­are­collected,­converted­back­into­raw­materials­and­remade­into­new­consumer­products.­

• It's­rare­for­a­recycled­product­to­be­exactly­the­same­as­the­original­material­from­which­it­was­recycled!

• Recycled­paper,­for­example,­contains­ink­residue­and­has­shorter­fibers­than­virgin­paper­(paper­made­from­wood­pulp).­Because­of­this,­it­may­be­less­desirable­for­some­purposes,­such­as­paper­used­in­a­copy­machine.­

• ­Example­(exercise­book)­:­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­➘It‘s­darker

A little history• The mass production • ➜­reasons­we­need­to­worry­about­recycling.­

• =­When­products­can­be­produced­(and­purchased)­very­cheaply,­it­often­makes­more­economic­sense­to­simply­throw­away­old­items­and­purchase­brand­new­ones­

• =­a­lot­of­waste­in­the­1930s­and­40s,­conservation­and­recycling­became­important­in­many­other­parts­of­the­world.­Economic­depressions­made­recycling­a­necessity­for­many­people­to­survive,­as­they­couldn't­afford­new­goods.

Why do we recycle?• BECAUSE ☟

To­prevent­waste­of­potentially­useful­materials,­to­reduce­the­consumption­of­fresh­raw­materials,­to­reduce­energy­usage,­to­reduce­air­pollution­and­water­pollution,for­lower­greenhouse­gas­emissions­as­compared­to­plastic­production,&­to­reduce­the­mass­of­waste­on­the­landfills

Benefits of recycling• Avoids too much garbageOne­of­the­main­reasons­for­recycling­is­to­reduce­the­amount­of­garbage­sent­to­landfills.

• New goods use up resourcesMaking­something­from­recycled­materials­means­using­fewer­natural­resources.

• Recycling (sometimes) uses less energyThere's­room­for­debate­on­this­aspect­of­recycling,­but­many­recycling­processes­require­less­energy­than­it­would­take­to­manufacture­the­same­item­brand-new.­

• MoneyRecycling­costs­less­money­and­can­help­to­improve­the­image­of­a­company

Problems with Recycling

• Recycling­takes­time­to­sort­and­store­items.

• You­need­much­space­for­recycling

• The­recycled­products­have­to­be­sold.­If­nobody­buys­them,­companies­will­no­longer­produce­it

­­­­☠­For­expample:­Exercise­books­made­­­from­recycled­paper­is­darker!­

Separating waste in Germany • separated­garbage­is­reusable­• ­It’s­not­only­separated­in­residential­houses­and­dormitories,­but­also­in­public­places­such­as­train­stations­

• ­Germany:­specific­rules­­

• ­four­bins:­a­grey­one,­a­yellow­one,­a­green­one­a­brown­one­and­also­yellow­bags­

• ­Waste­segregation­is­needed­in­order­to­protect­the­environment­and­community­

• ­waste­industry­in­Germany­employs­more­than­200.000­people­

• ­turnover:­50­billion­Euro­

• ­50­million­tones­of­municipal­waste­/­each­year­

• ­Symbol­of­the­separation:­Green­dot­­­­­­­­­­­­­­→

• ­not­only­Germany­uses­the­Green­Dot:­26­European­countries­

• ­biodegradable­waste­has­positive­effects­on­soils­and­plants­

• ­nearly­100­kg­of­biowaste­per­inhabitant­are­collected­each­yr.­­­(4­mio­tons­per­year).­

• ­Batteries­and­accumulators­must­be­collected­separately

Metabolon• The­disposal­center­„Leppe“­is­one­of­the­most­modern­disposal­locations­in­the­EU­and­it­is­a­reference­location­of­its­international­audience.­The­aim­of­the­project­“Metabolon”­is­the­reorientation­of­the­existing­disposal­center­Leppe­to­a­competence,­learning­and­innovation­space­for­the­transformation­and­site-specific­environmental­technology­and­techniques.

• Raw­materials­become­more­scarce­and­energy­is­becoming­more­and­more­expensive…­

Industrial Recycling• Oberberg’s­industry­is­very­good­at­recycling

• For­example­a­company­called­A.S.­Création

• In­earlier­times­they­always­colored­the­Agger­(our­beautiful­river)­when­they­work

• Today­most­of­water­is­cleaned,­for­example­in­the­river­Rhine­there­are­now­fishes­like­salmon

• Also­the­emissions­are­cleaned

• In­earlier­times­Germany­produced­lots­of­emissions­because­most­energy­was­produced­with­coal

• today­we­have­very­strict­laws­about­emissions

• Little­story:­in­Dortmund­(a­big­city)­the­smoke­was­very­strong.­Then­they­started­to­clean­it­and­now­the­air­is­so­clean­they­need­pesticides­in­the­parks­and­green­areas.­Before­this­the­insects­died­because­of­the­air• In­Germany­more­than­60%­of­the­companies­said­that­recycling­is­very­important­for­them• Also­the­waste­is­recycled• Another­way­is­to­produce­as­little­waste­as­possible• E.­g.­Jockey­plastic­(a­big­plastic­company)­recycle­their­waste­by­shredding­­and­melting­it• So­they­produce­only­a­few­tons­of­waste­every­year• Most­companies­try­to­reduce­waste­and­recycle­the­rest• E.­g.­VW­tries­to­produce­cars­that­can­be­recycled­nearly­completely­(90%)