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Waste and Recycling

 

Facts:

  • Recycling just 1 tin can would save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours.
  • Recycling just 1 glass bottle would save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.
  • Recycling just 1 plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for 3 hours.
  • 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials. Makign paper from recycled materials also creates around 73% less air pollution.
  • Up to 60% of the rubbish that ends up in the dustbin could be recycled.
  • Between 20% and 50% of waste in the average dustbin could be composted.
  • If all cans in the UK were recycled, we would need 14 million fewer dustbins.
  • Glass is 100% recyclable meaning that it can be used again and again however the glass that is thrown away and ends up in landfill will never decompose.
  • 275,000 tonnes of plastic are used each year in the UK, that’s about 15 million bottles per day. Most families throw away about 40kg of recyclable plastic per year, which can take up to 500 years to decompose in landfill.
  • The UK produces more than 434 million tonnes of waste every year, enough to fill 3.5 million double-decker buses.
  • On average, each person in the UK throws away seven times their body weight (about 500kg) in rubbish every year, and each family consumes around 330 glass bottles and jars a year.
  • Every year, an estimated 17.5 billion plastic bags are given away by supermarkets. This is equivalent to around 290 bags for every person in the UK. We produce and use 20 times more plastic today than we did 50 years ago.

 

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