Recycling
It’s easy to get blasé about recycling when all you see is the ‘putting things in the bin’ end of things. But, when you think about it, it’s like modern-day alchemy. Old drinks bottles coming back to life as football tops. Aerosols becoming mobile phone parts. Food scraps making electricity! It’s like very clever magic really.
What is recycling?
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Reducing
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Conserving
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Renewing
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Resources
Recycling is better for the environment than sending our rubbish to landfill, but it still creates carbon emissions through the recycling process. The best thing we can do is to first reduce the amount of products we consume and reuse what we already have.
Up to 60% of what households throwaway could be recycled.
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The positive impacts of recycling
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Reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill (meaning less landfill tax for Scotland)
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Keeps valuable resources in the country which is good for the Scottish economy
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Creates jobs in Scotland
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Less litter and pollution
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Reduces the need for extracting (mining, quarrying and logging), refining and processing raw materials
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Turns rubbish into something useful or innovative - like bags or phone cases!
Why recycle?
Discover why it’s important to keep on recycling and find out what else you could do.
Take the next step
Reduce
Recycling is important, but minimising waste in the first place is even better so reduce or reuse as much as you can.
If in doubt, leave it out
Contamination by food residue or non-recyclable materials can ruin the batch and cause it to be sent to landfill.
Local knowledge
Follow local instructions on how to recycle when at home or out and about.
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What to do with clothing and textiles
We all have clothes in our wardrobes or curtains, pillowcases, duvet covers, blankets, sheets and towels in our cupboards that we don’t need or want any more. Sometimes we have items that are past their best too. So what can we do with them?