Nowadays, environmental trends are gaining a lot of popularity all over the world. There is no surprise that people have started to become more involved in taking better care of our planet. Trouble is that environmental trends’ popularity has appeared as a result of the fact that negative environmental changes are becoming more obvious. Global warming, heavy pollution, and major threats to biodiversity and natural resources are only a few of the negative effect of the reckless actions of humans. Therefore, reducing waste and recycling more have become two of the top priorities of the green initiatives taking over every industry. There are new developments in the fields of recycling and waste management taking shape for a reduced negative impact on our planet.
What is the circular economy?
The concept of the circular economy is currently a popular one. It is mostly promoted by the European Union, but also by several national governments, and many businesses from all around the world. The bases of the concept have been born from a collection of separate ideas from several different fields. It is defined as a perspective of sustainable development. Circular economy leads to sustainable developmentthrough the processes of turning resources in an extraordinary number of products. It aims to redefine growth, focusing on positive social and environmental benefits. A huge number of companies have embraced this concept as a plan for their sustainable growth. A growing number of innovative and green business practices are becoming viable opportunities for companies to adopt. The waste and recycling industry is making incredible steps into helping the circular economy principle to grow. Corporations, startups, governments, and universities from all around the world collaborate with them on finding profitable solutions that promote the recycling-waste culture.
What are recyclable materials?
The process of recycling is easy to be defined. It represents the process of taking used materials which are no longer useful and making brand new products with them. Waste reduction is not an issue that should only be put on the shoulders of large corporations. It is certainly true that the biggest negative impact on the environment is produced by corporate pollution. However, waste reduction is a problem which should be taken into consideration by each individual in order to create a bigger positive impact on this initiative. Recycling needs to start with the people separating recyclable materials produced by their households. The separated materials will be collected and processed by recycling programs. Afterward, they are sold to manufacturers who transform them into new products.
Unfortunately for our planet, not everything can be recycled yet. However, there are a few main categories of materials which can be recycled and converted into new goods.
Aluminum cans
Aluminum cans are one of the most recycled materials. They are 100 percent recyclable and can be reprocessed over and over again. Recycled aluminum has a great impact on the reduction of waste and decreasing the negative effects on our planet. Turning recycled aluminum cans into new ones uses 95 percent less energy than what making new ones would take.
Plastic bottles
When it comes to waste, plastic bottles are the most common materials that end up in the landfills. Making plastic out of recycled resources uses about two-thirds less energy than making new plastic. Recycling plastic bottles does not only reduces pollution but also lowers greenhouse gas emissions. The most commonly-used plastics used is polystyrene. It is slow to biodegrade which makes it a nightmare for the environment. Polystyrene can be recycled when being disposed of to reduce its negative impact on our planet.