Recycling

Reasons for recycling

We recycle materials because:

we are using some materials to the point where there is very little left in the world and a time will come when they will run out
recycling processes causes less damage to the environment than the primary conversion of materials
recycling processes use less energy than the primary conversion of materials.

Timber and manufactured boards should be recycled whenever possible, particularly hardwoods that take decades to mature.

Paper and card should be recycled.

Metals should be recycled. It is far cheaper to recycle metals than it is to dig the metals ores out of the ground and then convert them into the metals that we use to make products. Recycling has far less environmental impact than the conversion of metal ores into the metals.

There is little deterioration in metals over time so they can be melted and formed into new products. This uses less energy, produces less pollution and does not have leave big holes in the ground from mining processes.

Plastics should be recycled. The dumping of waste plastics has catastrophic and long term effect on the environment.

Commonly Used Recycling Symbols

	Made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET)			Made of polypropylene (PP)
	Made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET)			Made of polystyrene (PS)
	Made of polyethylene terephthalate (PETE)			Other plastics
	Made of high density polyethylene (PEHD)			Recycle point for glass products
	Made of high density polyethylene (HDPE)			Recyclable Aluminium
	Made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC)			Recyclable Steel
	Made of low density polyethylene			The Green Dot, (Grüne Punkt) on packaging means that it complies with the German Packaging Ordinance
	Made of low density polyethylene (LDPE)			Mobius Loop Each arrow represents a stage in recycling: collection, reprocessing, purchase of new product. Can be used with a variety of materials.