C14.6 Reduce, reuse, and recycle

Recycling

Metals, glass, building materials, clay ceramics and most plastics are made from limited natural resources. Some items made from these materials can be reused, and this saves the most energy and reduces the impact on the environment. For example, glass bottles only need to be washed and sterilised before they can be filled again. Other products cannot be reused in this way, but they can be recycled.

Advantages of recycling

The advantages of recycling compared to producing materials and objects from natural resources include:

·       fewer quarries and mines are needed to extract finite reserves of metal ores

·       less crude oil needs to be extracted from the crust as a raw material for making plastics

·       less energy is needed for recycling compared with making…