THINGS TO CONSIDER...
Properly done, it reduces the usage of raw materials, energy usage, air pollution, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.
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Recycling can involve energy usage, hazards, labor costs, and practices by individuals and countries, which can hamper the efficient implementation of recycling plans.
The biggest limit to recycling is that not all materials can be recycled, and some materials can only be recycled a limited number of times due to degradation each time through the process.
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Recycling poses a number of societal and ethical issues - low wages and
terrible conditions for workers involved in the recycling process and the release
of toxins which are environmental and health risks for the individuals and their surrounding communities.
RECYCLING DIFFERENT MATERIALS
Glass
There is little economic incentive to recycle glass. The raw materials for producing glass are inexpensive and readily available. Glass is relatively dense, which makes it expensive
to transport which adds to the costs of recycling. Glass must
be sorted before being processed during recycling, usually
done manually which adds to costs. Not all glass is recyclable,
and the glass comes in many different forms.
Metal
Aluminum is the most commonly recycled nonferrous metal.
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Aluminum is recycled because it takes a lot less energy
to recycle aluminum than it takes to extract aluminum from
bauxite ore, which requires heating and electrolysis. In addition, aluminum readily forms an oxide that forms a protective surface. This protective surface protects the bulk of the aluminum from oxidizing further. This results in most of the aluminum being recovered every time it goes to the recycling phase, in
contrast to iron.
Polymers
The two classes of polymers are thermoplastic
polymers and thermosetting polymers. The basic property
that separates a thermoplastic polymer from a thermosetting polymer is the polymer’s response to being heated. When
the thermoplastic polymer is heated, it melts, softens, and
can be reformed when cooled. When the thermosetting polymer is heated, it hardens and cannot be reformed
and stays hard when cooled.
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Thermosetting polymers are much more difficult to
recycle. Some of them can be ground up and used as filler
for other processes, and, on a case-by-case basis, some
can be processed to be broken down into their underlying base units which can be reused. Another approach to
reducing the amount of plastic that ends up in our landfills
is the development of biodegradable plastic. The idea here
is that plastic can be made to breakdown (be compostable.)
Goals
Australia’s National Packaging Targets
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100% of packaging being reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025
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70% of plastic packaging being recycled or composted by 2025
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50% of average recycled content included in packaging by 2025
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The phase out of problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging by 2025
APCO Specific Targets
Material specific targets for recycled content in plastic packaging made from:
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Polyethylene (PET) (30%)
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High-density polyethylene (HDPE) (20%)
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Polypropylene (PP) (20%)
European Union Goals
By 31 December 2025, at least 65% by weight of all packaging waste must
be recycled. The recycling targets
per material are:
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50% of plastic
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25% of wood
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70% of ferrous metals
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50% of aluminum
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70% of glass
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75% of paper and cardboard