10 Reasons Why We Should Recycle

10 Reasons Why We Should All Recycle Explained by 1st Choice Waste Management

Times have changed drastically in the last 10 plus years as prior to this the waste from homes and landfills was something that no one paid attention to or were even aware of the negative impact and consequences on the environment. We have improved but we still have a long way to go when it comes to our home and business waste and how we recycle.

In truth plastic and non-recyclable packaging being dumped in landfills or in rivers, oceans and forests around the world increased a huge amount as companies around the world started to use plastic and non-recyclable packaging for internet deliveries, supermarket food, products using marketing packaging and so much more.

Many think that recycling is a 20th-century process, however, it has been around for thousands of years. Prior to the industrial age, it was difficult to produce goods quickly and efficiently so virtually everyone practised recycling in some form. Mass production in the industrial age is another reason why recycling was needed.

In the 1970s, modern recycling centres were introduced to prevent homes and businesses across the world just dumping their waste, which included garden waste, as more and more packaging and plastic including a huge number of plastic bottles were being used. If this hadn’t been done we would be facing even more devastating consequences with global warming, natural habitats being destroyed, animals becoming extinct, damaging pollution to both humans and wildlife and our oceans and rivers being flooded with waste and pollution than we are now.

Despite the starting of recycling it took until 2003 for the Household Waste Recycling Act to be passed. This law required all local authorities in England to provide every household with a separate collection of at least two types of recyclable materials by 2010.

We are now all much more aware that it is everyone’s responsibility across the world to act now to prevent the further consequences of landfill waste and the more we can refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle the better. Sadly, the UK has some of the worst recycling levels in Western Europe and this is something we can all work towards changing.

Information sourced from Gov.UK – 

• The UK recycling rate for waste from Households was 45.0% in 2018, decreasing from 45.5% in 2017
• The recycling rate for WFH decreased in all UK countries except Northern Ireland in 2018
• UK biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) sent to landfill has fallen from approximately 7.4 million tonnes in 2017 to around 7.2 million tonnes in 2018
• There is an EU target for the UK to recycle at least 50% of household waste by 2020
• Figures for 2017 show that 70.0% of UK packaging waste was either recycled or recovered, compared to 71.4% in 2016. This exceeds the EU target to recycle or recover at least 60% of packaging waste, however, it has decreased slightly year on year

1st Choice Waste Management’s priority is to actively encourage recycling with all of our customers and ensure that all recyclable waste that comes into our waste and recycling site is recycled in the most environmentally friendly way possible. We offer a highly efficient waste management and recycling service that enables waste producers from all industrial and commercial sectors to manage their waste which includes hazardous waste, and difficult, and unique waste produce. We dispose of your waste in an ethical and trustworthy way and have all the licenses, accreditations and insurance documentation needed to carry out our waste management processes.

There are many types of business waste that won’t be collected by the council’s waste collection service and this means you have a legal responsibility to ethically dispose of your waste.

Business and commercial waste can be anything from food waste, wood, timber, garden waste, plastic, paper, cardboard, paper, aluminium/steel cans, glass, packaging, electronic equipment, printer cartridges, office furniture, plastic bottles, drink cups, food waste, fluorescent light tubes, batteries, scrap metal, bricks, tiles, concrete, and hazardous waste such as asbestos, paints, solvents and much more.

Waste produced as a result of commercial activity is classified as controlled waste and this means you are legally responsible for disposing of it safely and correctly. If a business or, even a householder loses control of their waste or they haven’t taken reasonable care to prevent this from happening then a breach of a ‘Duty of Care’ is committed.

The duty of care legislation makes provision for the safe management of waste to protect
human health and the environment.

The duty of care code applies to if you import, produce, carry, keep, treat, dispose of or, as a dealer or broker have control of, certain waste in England or Wales. Failure to comply with the duty of care is an offence with no upper limit on the courts’ power to fine. In some instances, a fixed penalty notice may be issued for failure to comply with the duty of care in place of prosecution. The Code is admissible as evidence in legal proceedings for Section 34(1) offences and its rules must be taken into account where relevant to questions raised in the case.

You can view the Waste Duty of Care Code of Practice here.

In recent years the focus on responsible waste disposal has increased and this includes business waste. There is now a huge emphasis on greener solutions for your whole business, therefore, waste management has become an important factor for business owners with more and more installing recycling bins throughout their business and now use a licensed waste management company like 1st Choice Waste Management to recycle for them.

At 1st Choice Waste Management’s waste and recycling centre we take the environmental impact of commercial, industrial and domestic waste disposal very seriously and our experienced waste team are dedicated to this.

We offer a highly efficient waste management and recycling service that ensures that any waste from all industrial and commercial sectors, including hazardous, difficult, and unique waste produce is disposed of responsibly. We understand that every business is different and managing your waste can be complex so our expert team works with you to understand your waste requirements and come up with a waste solution that meets your needs in the North East.

Any natural waste is disposed of in our own Biomass Boiler including garden waste, wood, timber and any other natural material. Biomass boilers are environmentally friendly waste solutions which produce renewable energy. Our biomass boiler converts all possible natural waste materials including garden waste into energy which then passes clean electricity into the grid.

10 Reasons Why We Should All Start to Actively Recycle the Waste we Produce

1. Reduces Carbon Emissions

By recycling, you are minimising the number of carbon emissions that are being released into the atmosphere. When waste isn’t recycled and is put into landfill it eventually combusts and releases dangerous gases into the atmosphere.
Many more people now realise that everyone needs to play a role in minimising the effects of pollution and emissions but there are still more people in the world who need to be convinced.

Research has shown that one tree can remove 250lbs of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. Additional carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases the greenhouse effect which means more thermal energy is trapped by the atmosphere, causing the planet to become warmer than it would be naturally. This increase in the Earth’s temperature is called global warming.

Recycling is needed to keep our planet clean, reduce pollution and to prevent deforestation which impacts humans and wildlife as well.

2. Improves the Quality of Groundwater

If landfills continue to grow and additional ones developed the quality of groundwater will deteriorate. Many landfill companies don’t treat their landfills as they should and will dispose of waste in a hole in the ground with no protection. A large percentage of waste in landfills is neither biodegradable nor eco-friendly and contaminants from the waste find their way into the groundwater supply. Typically this happens when rain or runoff water from landfills are carried through the land and into water bodies such as streams and rivers. This damages and often destroys the already fragile ecosystems and renders the once freshwater and safe waters too risky to drink.

Recycling our waste prevents this dangerous water cycle impact.

3. Protects Wildlife

Increased use of recycled products breaks the exploitation of natural resources such as forests, rivers, wetlands, and lakes, which are natural habitats for wildlife. Our oceans and ocean wildlife are now greatly threatened by the waste we are putting into landfill. Every year between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes of plastic enters the ocean which not only contaminates our waters but injures and kills the ocean’s wildlife. The plastic that ends up in the ocean has been known to choke sea wildlife such as whales which have been found washed up on beaches with large amounts of plastic found in their bodies.

In summary, waste travels throughout the world’s rivers and oceans accumulate on beaches and within gyres. The waste and debris harms physical habitats, transports chemical pollutants, threatens aquatic life, and interferes with human uses of river, marine and coastal environments.

Our oceans play a huge part in the sustainability of our planet and by recycling our waste ethically we will reduce the amount of plastic including many plastic bottles and other pollutants entering our oceans and water supplies.

4. Waste Accumulation is a Global Problem

Mass accumulation of waste is a problem all over the world and not just in the UK. If we continue to allow waste to accumulate unabated we may run out of locations to bury synthetic waste, or the waste will bring devastating effects on the environment through global warming.

Recycling as much as we can reduce the amount of waste that is accumulating across the world and damaging the world we live in. Using recycling bins within your business and using the ones you have at home for your local council collection service contributes to this and is a starter if you’ve not yet started on your recycling journey..

5. Reduces Landfill Sites

The waste we now produce is still increasing at an alarming rate and this translates into additional and overflowing landfill sites. Finding suitable locations for landfill sites is limited and this alone is a reason to recycle and not dispose of everything in landfills.

Cities close to the coast have been polluting the ocean for decades from the waste being produced and put into landfill sites nearby, so we need to find new and different ways of reducing our waste and ensuring all the waste we produce is recyclable. Using your recycling bins at home whenever you can, refusing to buy products that aren’t recyclable and reusing products all support working towards a better and improved environment.

6. Protects Property Values

Embracing recycling in the city, town, village or location you live in will reduce the number of landfill sites needed, therefore, protecting the price of your property.

Landfill sites significantly reduce property value as nobody likes the idea of, or wants to live within close proximity of one. They emit dangerous greenhouse gases, they smell, there is pollution created from the lorries and trucks carrying the waste to the sites and they have an impact on the water supply.

Recycling means fewer landfill sites and cleaner air and we all have a part to play wherever in the UK or the world we live in. Next time you go to throw something into your main rubbish bin, check the label and ensure you recycle it in your recycling bin if you can. Next time you buy a new product read the packaging to check you can recycle it before you buy it.

7. Creates Jobs

Recycling takes place in lots of industries and if recycling is increased more recycling sites will be set up. A recycling centre generates more jobs and it is a fact that recycling creates 10 times more employment opportunities compared to landfill waste management.

8. Ensures a Sustainable Future

Our planet harbours a limited amount of natural resources and by using them ethically they can be reused and recycled over and over again thus reducing the waste we dispose of in a landfill.

By recycling at our recycling centres, we are doing two great things to our future, minimising our immediate effect on the world we are blessed to live in as well as developing sustainable practices for future generations.

9. Money Saving

Changing your mindset and developing a habit of only buying what you need will save you money. Reusing products and not only using them for the same purpose will save you money. Use the internet to find ideas and inspiration for this. More and more people are upcycling furniture and this is a great way of saving money. By recycling business waste you can earn money back from your waste which more and more companies are doing, reducing the cost of their waste disposal.

10. Waste Causes Disease

Waste disposed of in landfill sites decomposes over 100’s of year and it’s during this process that toxic and harmful gases are emitted which can cause serious respiratory diseases and conditions.

The toxic liquids from waste in landfill find their way into our water sources and can cause infectious diseases like typhoid and dysentery which can spread. The toxins also then get into our food cycle and can cause humans to be sick.

Landfill sites attract rats and animals which carry diseases which are harmful to the people that work there, the people that drop off the waste and the homes in close proximity.

Refusing to buy products that aren’t recyclable, reducing non-recyclable items, reusing things instead of throwing them away, recycling at recycling centre’s and using our council recycling bins and pick up services where we can all reduce the impacts of landfill sites which are catastrophic to humans, animals and our environment

If we all recycle our waste in recycling centre’s and use our recycling bins, including garden waste bins at home, our oceans would be cleaner, our world would be better and our future would be brighter. 1st Choice Waste Management contributes to this by recycling all possible waste wherever we can. If you use our recycling services, you can be assured that your waste is not contributing to harming us as humans, animals, the ocean and our whole planet. Our aim is to contribute towards the UK reducing the waste we produce and to encourage recycling across the UK.

Whether you are a Home Owner or Business Owner Remember the 4 R’s of Waste

1. Refuse
2. Reduce
3. Reuse
4. Recycle

Refuse

You can reduce the waste produced by your business by no longer buying individually packaged items and single-use plastics and plastic bottles. Ask each company you purchase from what their recycling policy is and if their packaging is recyclable.

Reduce

Part of reducing is buying less and being more aware as a consumer. Before anyone buys anything within your business ask them to ask themselves; do they really need it, is there another option, how often or how long will it be used for and if the product they are buying is recyclable.

Reuse

Reuse everything you possibly can and ask your team for their ideas of everything you have or produce within your business. An example of this is people and businesses using plastic bottles stuffed with plastic, eco-bricks, to build walls and other amazing structures at their business. Some third world countries have even built whole properties using eco-bricks.

Recycle

Recycling is the last R in the 4 R’s and is your last resort in your waste management processes. Ensure your team’s sort and clean any recycling items and add them to the right recycling bins you have across your business.

As a business. think about food waste, wood, timber, plastic, paper, cardboard, paper, aluminium/steel cans, glass, packaging, electronic equipment, printer cartridges, office furniture, garden waste, plastic bottles, drink cups, food waste, fluorescent light tubes, batteries, scrap metal, bricks, tiles, concrete, and hazardous waste such as asbestos, paints, solvents and much more when you are reviewing what you can recycle within your business.

Having the right recycling bins and enough of them within your business is a crucial aspect to you reducing your overall waste and it will make it cheaper for your waste disposal as it won’t need to be sorted at a recycling centre or by your waste management company. It is easier for people to throw plastic bottles into a recycling bin or use a garden waste bin which is clearly labelled rather than adding them to general waste so the key is to have them strategically placed around your business.

Professional waste management companies like 1st Choice Waste Management will act as a waste broker for you and you can earn money back for anything they can recycle at their efficient recycling centre.

Contact us today on 01642 478734 to find out more about the services we offer and how we can help your business to ethically reduce and recycle the waste you produce.