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I think it all depends on the material at hand, right? For materials like single use plastics it may in the end not be that useful, but for glass and aluminium
by EdSchouten 7y ago
I think it all depends on the material at hand, right? For materials like single use plastics it may in the end not be that useful, but for glass and aluminium it is remarkably effective. Those materials are easy to recycle, yet expensive to produce in the first place.
- merpnderp 7y agoAluminum is common knowledge it makes sense to recycle. But I'd like to see a citation on glass. Saw an article a few days ago that Baltimore hasn't sent the glass they collect to be recycled in 7 years do to cost and an environmental engineer I know says it isn't cost effective to recycle most things - that putting them in a well maintained landfill is far more kind to the environment.
- EdSchouten 7y agoSo I have no clue on how this works globally, but at least here in the Netherlands we recycle 90% of our glass: https://www.milieuservicenederland.nl/afvalstromen/glas/ https://www.milieuservicenederland.nl/afvalstromen/glas/ https://www.nederlandseglasfabrikanten.nl/duurzaamheid/recycling-van-glas/ https://www.nederlandseglasfabrikanten.nl/duurzaamheid/recyc... http://www.duurzaamglas.nl/glas-is-eindeloos http://www.duurzaamglas.nl/glas-is-eindeloos The second link is interesting in particular, as it states the following: "Er is ongeveer 25% minder energie nodig om scherven te smelten dan grondstoffen." Translation: "Melting shards of glass requires 25% less energy than melting raw materials." I also read somewhere (though can't find a source for it right now) that having separate bins for different colours (in our case brown, green and transparent) is one of the main reasons why recycling is so effective over here. It means glass doesn't become tainted that quickly.