Creative recycling

Prof. Dobre Gheorghita

Liceul Tehnologic „Alexe Marin”

United Nations figures show that the world produces 2.12 Billion TONS of waste
every single year, and the figures are going up! Luckily, some creative recycling projects at
home can help save the planet.
Not only that, but you’ll have a lot of fun doing these creative recycling projects –
whether on your own or with your family! Unfortunately, it’s fair to say that, many people have
lost sight of the traditional “make and make do” philosophy. Modern life is fast and
everything feels disposable. However, there are considerable benefits to slowing down and
thinking of ways to reuse common household items!
Creative recycling is good for the environment, saves money, and can form the basis
of an enjoyable and engaging hobby. Nowadays more and more people are taking this one step
further, and turning their recycling ideas into money-making projects, with some even building
businesses around upcycling items that would otherwise have been thrown away!

Reasons to Recycle

There are a many good reasons for recycling; While the central reason that it’s great
for the environment is, of course, perfectly valid, there are plenty of specific reasons too:

1. It can be an extremely enjoyable way to spend some spare time, on your own or with
your family.
2. While modern landfill sites are now created more safely than they once were, it’s crazy
to send materials to landfill unnecessarily.
3. Recycling reduces global warming and prevents unnecessary greenhouse gasses
reaching the atmosphere.
 4. Recycling (and up / downcycling) is good for wildlife; The damage done to ocean life
by discarded plastic bottles, for example, is well documented.
5. Recycling dramatically reduces energy use. For example, producing aluminum cans
from “secondary production” uses 92% less energy than doing so from raw materials.
6. New raw materials are generated from recycled products, providing a way to make new
things without the further use of resources that may be finite.
7. Reusing materials for new purposes can save a considerable amount of money. As this
article shows, many useful items can be produced by repurposing items that would
otherwise have been thrown away.
8. When more people become environmentally aware, demand for recycled products
increases. This creates a self-perpetuating circle of demand that’s good for the industry
and for the planet.
9. Water pollution is reduced when recycling increases, as producing goods from recycled
materials doesn’t pollute as much as using virgin raw materials.
10. With an average family in the western world producing a ton of waste each year,
recycling is one activity where just one family (or one person) can make a genuine
difference.
Whether you’re recycling by sending materials for industrial reuse or reusing items
by trying out some of the recycling projects here, you’re contributing to a global effort to
improve the environment for everybody, and for the future.

What things can be recycled?

 If you’re looking to make something useful out of something recycled, you may be
surprised by just how many items you can reuse creatively. Even a simple plastic bottle can
be turned into a garden sprinkler, a bird feeder or a watering can! For example:

 Glass bottles
 Plastic bottles
 Paper rolls (from kitchen towel and toilet paper)
 Stale bread
 Clothes
 Books
 Vegetable peelings
 Plastic Pots
 Corks
 Dryer sheets
 Coffee grounds
 Egg cartons
 Shoe boxes

So never assume the only possible destination for an item is the trash. There are
creative recycling projects out there for dozens of everyday items. Unfortunately, there
are some non-recyclable items that have to go to the landfill if you can’t find a secondary use
for them. One way to reduce the environmental impact of these items, in some cases, is to try
to refrain from using them wherever possible, instead choosing items that can be recycled.

Bibliografie:
www.reusethisbag.com
www.weareteachers.com
http://earthporm.com/creative-recycling-ideas