Recycling symbol

Recycling can refer to one of the following:

  • to use a product for a new purpose without changing the essential form, or by altering it minimally. See Upcycling
  • to use a product with a new user (ie by giving away a product to someone else, see Reuse and Freeganism)
  • to collect and process used materials to make new products.[1]

Reusing[edit | edit source]

A number of on-line services exist to allow people to give away items they no longer use and permit others to benefit from them. In example:

  • Freegle
  • Freecycle
  • Ecofreek is a search engine that searches the web for free and 'for swap/trade' items people no longer need from over 45+ major sources.

Making new products[edit | edit source]

In many cases, waste products are used to create saleable products and generate income. See for example:

Such collection and remanufacture prevents waste, limits the need to extract new raw materials, reduces energy usage while minimizing air and water pollution from traditional forms of waste disposal. In some situations (ie Flip Flop Recycling Project) they also clean up litter found in nature. Many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles and electronics are recyclable. While composting of food or garden waste, either in home gardens or through central municipal facilities, is very worthwhile, we do not usually think of composting as falling within the scope of recycling.

Local recycling[edit | edit source]

Paper-recycling.jpg

Australia:

Essex, UK:

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Page data
Keywords climate change gallery
Authors KVDP, Erik Bjørn Pedersen
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Translations Russian, French
Related 2 subpages, 78 pages link here
Aliases Recycle
Impact 1,841 page views
Created July 14, 2006 by Chris Watkins
Modified March 1, 2024 by Kathy Nativi
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