What is the recycling process?
To really understand why recycling is so helpful for our earth, we should first learn the basics.
Step 1: Recyclables are collected from bins. Recyclables need to be seperated from waste to be recycled. Step 2: The recyclable materials are processed, sorted and cleaned before being shipped to different manufacturers who will recycle the materials into new products. Step 3: This step differs for all kinds of recycled products. Paper is turned to pulp, dried, then rolled into flat sheets. Glass is broken into pieces, called cullet, then melted and reshaped for consumers. Aluminum cans are shredded and ground into small chips, melted, and cast into ingots. Step 4: The recycled materials are then sold to consumers. A product can be recycled four to seven times in its lifetime. |
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Frequently Used Terms
RECYCLED: product is made of all or part of a material that was once something else, like a can or bottle
RECYCLABLE:indicates that a procuct or package can be recycled and used to make something else
POST-CONSUMER: a term for material that has been returned, recycled, and reborn into a second life
PRE-CONSUMER: a material that was discarded, or leftover, when used to make something else
