Society and production processes inevitably generate waste. A sustainable waste policy must always aim for its minimization. The best waste will always be that which is never produced. However, in the best-case scenario, with the least possible amount, certain materials will end up becoming waste. In this case, reuse and recycling become vitally important, as they represent a recovery of raw materials and their reintroduction into production processes.
Recycling is a process by which waste materials are subjected to treatments that allow their transformation into new raw materials or products. Among the environmental benefits of recycling are:
- It represents a saving of raw materials, some of which are scarce or can only be obtained through very costly and polluting extraction processes.
- Recycling allows for saving energy and reducing pollution, both in the extraction and manufacturing phases.
- Recycling helps preserve natural resources such as water, wood, and minerals.
- Recycling means reducing the final volume of waste that ends up in landfills, which should always be the last option.
But what is the ecological importance of recycling? Does its effect truly make a difference to the environment? Is it an invention by big companies to make more money? The answer is clear: recycling is absolutely essential in a modern and sustainable society. For example:
- Each ton of recovered paper contains as much cellulose fiber as 4 m³ of wood, equivalent to about 14-16 trees.
- 3,000 recycled glass bottles represent one ton of waste that does not go to a landfill, saving 1.2 tons of raw material and 40% of the manufacturing energy.
- For every two tons of recycled plastic, one ton of oil is saved.
- Recycling the steel contained in tinplate can reduce atmospheric pollution produced in its extraction and manufacturing process by up to 86%.
- For every ton of recycled aluminum, the extraction of four tons of bauxite is avoided. Bauxite is the mineral from which aluminum is obtained, and its extraction is costly and highly polluting.
