Every day you face the choice of sorting waste into different bins for each type of waste generated in the home, office, or shopping area. Proper sorting ensures there are more items in the blue recycling and green compost bins than in your black plastic bin.
Does this matter?
If you are not recycling already, read on to find out how easy it is and the difference it makes. For those already recycling, discover the positive effects your efforts are making and discover what more you can do.
Why Separate Your Waste?
Waste separation is critical because the products are processed right away, which is better for the environment. This separation ensures recyclable materials are reused in the production of new items.
New paper comes from waste paper, new crates or packaging from waste plastic, and biogas from organic waste in a black plastic compost bin. There is the added option of reusing certain items such as old furniture and clothing.
Why is Separating Waste at Source Critical?
Recycling systems centred around waste separation at the source require sorting the trash by material type before processing. This offers several benefits, including:
- Help reduce contamination—Separating different recyclable materials at the source ensures they do not contaminate each other. For example, glass and paper are easy materials to recycle. However, putting broken glass in a bin of paper contaminates the entire load, and it ends up in a landfill.
- Aids in maintaining resource integrity—Reducing contamination helps maintain the integrity of waste material and reduces down cycling. This is the process where materials recycled cannot be used for making products of the same quality, reducing the times waste materials can be reused, leading to the landfill sooner.
- Helps identify problematic materials—It is easy to spot when you are producing more single-use waste in the home or office when you have a dedicated a designated white and black plastic bin for soft plastics. This offers more opportunities to address the problem yourself or within your organisation, such as providing reusable cups and plates.
- Keep materials in circulation—This is known as the circular economy. Separating at source helps keep many materials in use, which helps reduce landfill further.
When you separate your waste, save money and support recycling efforts.
Benefits of Recycling
It is time to improve your recycling habits—at home, workplaces, and schools. Recycling kitchen bins are a great place to reduce rates for everyday waste in Australia. Here are reasons why…
- Conserves natural resources—The earth’s natural resources are finite and, already, some are in short supply. Recycling wood and paper helps save forests and trees, recycling your plastic means manufacturers require less new plastic from fossil fuel hydrocarbons, and recycling metal reduces damaging mining activities. Glass recycling helps reduce the need for new raw materials such as sand.
- Protect wildlife and ecosystems—Material recycling reduces the need for growing, harvesting, or extracting raw materials. This lessens the harmful impact human activities have on the natural world. These include reducing the number of forests cut down, wild animals displaced or harmed, and less pollution of air, soil, and water.
- Save energy—Producing items from recycled materials requires less energy than making the same from new raw materials. For example, making fresh paper from the waste you throw in paper-designated plastic kitchen waste bins requires 40 percent less energy than making it from new wood fibres.
- It is cheaper to dispose of—It is six times cheaper to dispose of recycled material than general refuse! The more materials you recycle, the fewer ends up in the bin. This saves your money, which is good for businesses, households, and local public services.
Start Now
Recycling is incredibly critical for the planet. Waste has a massive impact on the environment and throwing things to landfill causes more problems such as greenhouse gas and harmful chemicals. The first step to recycling starts at home with a simple black plastic bin!
Are you ready to make a positive change to your home or business? Check out our blog for more ideas!
