Introduction

Throughout history, recycling has existed in one form or another. Even as long ago as 400 BC signs of early recycling are known to have taken place. Archaeological studies show that ancient waste dumps contained less of what is known today as household waste, such as pots, tools and ash, which demonstrates that people were, even back then, keen to reuse materials at a time when natural resources were not so freely available. Little did they know that what they were starting would play such a huge role in shaping the world for future generations.

Indeed it could be argued that the old ‘rag-and-bone’ man was an early recycler collecting discarded goods on his horse and cart, before reusing or turning the collected items into something new. The 60’s TV series, Steptoe and Son, brought this very much to the public eye and greater attention.

During periods such as the World War Years, recycling and reuse were common place as natural resources became much more difficult to come by. As well as food being rationed, certain materials such as metal and fibre were largely permitted only for use by the government in support of military operations, to meet manufacturing requirements often in the production of weaponry. A desperate need to support the military.

In the 1970’s, the need to recycle aluminium increased due to rising energy costs. As a material aluminium utilises much less energy in the production process than some other materials and was therefore much sought after. The need for aluminium saw the rise of scrap metal merchants who were willing to pay money in exchange for good quality metal. Also, in the 70’s in parts of the United States of America, the first vehicles were seen to be collecting waste with a separate trailer for the collection of recyclable materials being towed behind the vehicle. This was mainly large bulky items such as beds and old carpets.

To the late 1980’s, early 1990’s and as the importance of managing the global environmental state increased amongst worldwide governments, the focus upon recycling really started to gather momentum. In the UK, the government imposed recycling targets upon Local Authorities and with the introduction of the new legislation upon the waste industry, recycling schemes really began to take off. The once commonly recognised waste disposal companies, began to call themselves waste management companies and demonstrated through the offer of waste collection and recyclable material collection that waste needed to be handled more effectively.

Today, many hundreds of materials and products can be recycled, ranging from paper, card, glass and plastics, to mobile phones, electrical items, printer cartridges, textiles, clothing and concrete.

What is Recycling?

The term recycling describes the process of reprocessing used materials to new or nearly new materials to avoid the need for potentially useful materials or products to be discarded. Essentially it is diverting waste from landfill.

In a world where climate change is high on the environmental agenda, recycling plays a key role in reducing the need to unnecessarily send waste materials and products to landfill or other waste disposal options. This reduces the need or the reliance upon consuming fresh or new raw materials, reduces energy use and reduces air and water pollution, all of which contribute to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Significant contributions to improving the environment.

Recycling is probably most evident through the recycling services now provided by local authorities for domestic refuse and recycling collections and by modern waste management companies who generally offer a full range of waste and recycling collection services. Some companies, who have traditionally focused only on the collection of recyclable products, are now extending their service offering to collect general waste as well.

To help protect the environment a raft of waste regulation exists, so it is important to seek advice to ensure that your requirements are managed in accordance with the law.

In the waste sector, the common promotional activity surrounds the waste hierarchy - ‘reduce, reuse, recycle and recover’. This slogan is a simple message designed for a far reaching audience. Think about how you can reduce your waste. Can the waste products or materials be reused? Can the waste product or material be recycled? Many questions to consider.

The waste hierarchy is a strategy which many waste management companies and local authorities consider when developing new waste strategies. The strategy is intended to focus the mind around preventing waste being generated in the first place. Consider the options for reuse and recycling but ultimately minimise the amount of waste produced at the end of the cycle. The slogan has been adopted particularly well in the public sector.

So the emphasis is very much on the entire production process. The waste hierarchy extends much wider than to waste management companies and local authorities. Working groups have been set up to bring many sectors together to consider the entire waste cycle. For example, the manufacturer of a product needs to consider how the product is to be manufactured. Can parts be used which can later be recycled or reused? Can the amount of packaging which surrounds the product be reduced? When the product reaches the retailer, is it necessary for the product to be placed within an outer package? Once the retailer sells the product, what will the purchaser do with the unwanted elements of the purchase, i.e. the packaging? How will the packaging be collected and where will it go? Will it return to a recycling plant, for onward shipment to a reprocessing plant, where the cycle begins all over again?

How are Materials Collected for Recycling?

Legislation now dictates that all waste should be treated to divert the amount of recyclables and unnecessary waste going direct to landfill. Since 1996, UK government has enforced a landfill levy on all waste disposed of within landfill. The rate of tax has increased considerably in recent years rising from the original level of £8 per tonne, to today’s rate of £40 per tonne. The UK government has previously announced that this will increase further to £48 per tonne by the end of 2010/11. This rate applies to all general waste streams, although there is a lower rate for inert materials. Sending waste directly to landfill is an expensive option and finding suitable methods to divert waste away from landfill is now a priority.

So, the message to everyone is clear, sort your waste to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. Traditionally, at home or at work, as soon as you place waste in the dustbin , it is forgotten about. Someone else will collect it and take it away. Nowadays, at home and at work, recycling is being encouraged through the provision of containers in which to place specific recyclable materials.

Perhaps the most common materials to be seen being collected for recycling are paper, card, glass, metals and plastics. But the opportunity to recycle a vast number of materials or products continues to grow. Although technically not seen as recycling, food waste and garden waste collections are increasing, where the food or garden waste is taken back to a plant for processing into a reusable or saleable compost product.

There is a vast range of recycling containers on the market, to suit the needs of any size of business.

The methods of collecting materials or waste to be recycled is also increasing and becoming more noticeable within local communities. Dedicated collection sites, often referred to as a bring bank sites, are springing up in supermarket car parks to encourage customers of the supermarket to return such items as bottles, newspapers or cardboard to the bins on their way into the supermarket.

Local Authority waste collection crews or their appointed contractors will collect refuse and recyclables from the kerbside usually at the front of your home. Collection from domestic premises generally remains the responsibility of the local council and many have now employed the provision of baskets in which to collect specified recyclable materials or products. The services do vary from council to council.

In the industrial and commercial sector, waste management companies offer separate containers in which the customer deposits the appropriate waste stream or recyclable material ready for collection. The containers will often be clearly labeled as to which recyclable materials should be placed within that container or bin. Alternatively, the bins will be colour coded to identify which recyclable products should be placed within which bins. Waste management companies may have to deal with special requests from the customer.

The key to a successful recycling initiative is homeowners about what can be recycled and how. In the commercial world getting the buy in of factory employees is crucial. The introduction of any recycling scheme must ensure that in asking employees to separate waste for recycling, it does not become time consuming and affect the efficiency of what employees should be doing in their work.

The Recycling Process

Various collection systems exist for the collection of the recyclable products . Whichever collection system is utilised , the materials are taken to a drop off point where they will be segregated from other wastes.

To begin the recycling process from a collection point of view, the more recyclable material which can be separated at source, i.e. at home or in the work place, the more efficient it will be for the waste collector. That is why separate containers are supplied to the waste producer to encourage separation at source. If card can be collected on a vehicle, which will collect no other waste material, the card will be kept clean and therefore will have a higher value when it reaches the processing plant. Similarly, specialist glass collection vehicles are used to collect only glass. Apart from the obvious health and safety reasons and the weight of collected glass, it will have a much higher value if the collected glass load is not contaminated with other waste. Uncontaminated recyclables will have a much higher value than contaminated materials.

Once collected, the recyclable materials can be taken direct to a reprocessing plant, if the load contains only that specific type of material. So a dedicated glass collection vehicle could take the load directly to a glass processing plant.

If mixed recyclables have been collected such as paper and card within the same container, it may be necessary for the collector to take the load to a recycling centre to unload and allow the load to be sorted into separate paper and card bundles for onward transport to a paper or card processing plant. Whichever method is used, the recyclable material collected will usually be segregated or washed before going through to a reprocessing plant to be converted to a new resource and ultimately used as a new product or in manufacturing. Inert materials can be a useful by product at landfill, for example shredded tyres to aid traction on access roads.

Local councils have introduced recycle zones at many civic amenity sites.

The Increasing Importance of Recycling

In the UK around 35% of waste collected from households is recycled or composted. Whilst in the commercial and industrial sector, the volume of waste sent to landfill has declined substantially in recent years and the volume of waste now being diverted for recycling or reuse by this sector has risen above the volumes going to landfill. But there is still much to be done to increase rates further in this sector.

Landfill continues to play an important role in the management of waste across the UK as not all wastes can be recycled and some are more suited to landfill disposal than by any other means. However, it’s not just the increasing costs of disposing of waste directly in landfill which is making recycling a more attractive option for businesses. Landfill is becoming scarce, with some experts suggesting that the amount of void available across all UK landfill sites, has less than ten years existence remaining before all sites are deemed to be full. So what will happen to the waste then?

In recent years, waste management companies have started to consider and invest in new technologies, such as energy from waste plants, anaerobic digestion plants and mechanical biological treatment plants, as alternatives to landfill. Local Authorities have also changed their views by undertaking comprehensive strategic reviews as to how waste under their jurisdiction should be handled. In some cases this has meant that unitary authorities are implementing plans to introduce long term contracts, usually around 25 years in length, through which to manage their entire waste management requirements. These contracts will often include the need to build a facility through which to handle all waste generated across the city by sorting all waste streams. The contracts may also include the collection of all waste and recyclables from households across the area. So the face of waste management is changing rapidly. The days of just throw it in the dustbin have disappeared and the advent of new technologies are upon us.

Conclusion

Recycling is here to stay. It has evolved over the years from something that was undertaken without any real thought behind it. The trusty rag and bone man was just trying to make a living. Today, many blue chip organisations are setting out plans for a ‘zero to landfill’ waste policy, where the intention is very clear - reduce waste, reuse waste and recycle waste, but no waste must end up in landfill. Some companies have announced ambitious target dates by which to achieve such policies.

Many homes across the country now have some form of bin in which to separate waste for recycling. The need to separate newspapers, aluminium cans and plastic bottles are almost common place. Whilst in industrial and commercial sectors, there is an increasing list of items to consider for recycling such as printer cartridges, office paper, metal and electrical equipment.

The advent of new technologies will accelerate further the way in which our waste is to be managed in the future, but it is highly unlikely that we will ever reach the ultimate waste free society.