There’s no doubt we all need to drastically improve our recycling habits – at home, in schools and at workplaces. The Government has announced a target to recycle 65% of municipal waste by 2035 but most of the UK failed to meet its EU target of 50% recycling rate in 2020 so we all need to work together to make it happen in 2022 and beyond. 

  • Conserving the world’s natural resources are finite as some are already in short supply. By recycling paper and wood you can saves trees and forests by planting new ones but you can’t replace virgin rainforest or ancient woodlands once they’re lost. 
  • Recycling plastic means creating less new plastic, which is definitely a good thing, especially as it’s usually made from fossil fuel hydrocarbons.
  • Working with metals to recycle means there’s less need for risky, expensive and damaging mining and extraction of new metal ores.
  • Recycling glass reduces the need to use new raw materials like sand – it sounds hard to believe, but supplies of some types of sand are starting to get low around the world!

Recycling reduces the need to grow, harvest or extract new raw materials from the Earth which lessens disruption and damage: fewer forests cut down, rivers diverted, wild animals harmed or displaced, and less pollution of water, soil and air. What’s more if plastic waste isn’t safely put in the recycling, it can be blown or washed into rivers and seas and end up hundreds or thousands of miles away, polluting coastlines and waterways.

The world’s increasing demand for new stuff has led to more of the poorest and most vulnerable people (for example, those living around forests or river systems) being displaced from their homes. Forest communities can find themselves evicted as a result of the search for cheap timber and rivers can be damned or polluted by manufacturing waste.

Making products from recycled materials requires less energy than making them from new raw materials: making paper from pulped recycled paper uses 40% less energy than making it from virgin wood fibres.

Essex Reclamation has over 40 year’ experience in recycling at the very highest and most competitive level. Its state of the art recycling sites, machinery and highly trained and qualified staff means a smart, efficient and trustworthy service – every time! 

To see how you can improve your company’s recycling, for advice and a competitive quote from removal and disposal, email kay@essexreclamation.com or call 01376 503773.