How can recycling help save energy?

Question

"The paper, glass, metals, plastic, and organic material Stanford recycled in 2006 saved a total of about 91,811 million BTUs of energy, enough energy to power nearly 703 homes for one year, more than the number of homes on campus."

ok here my question ...how does recycling paper,glass,metal..ect consist with saving energy? what does rcecycling this things have to do with saving energy ... can someone explain this to me

Answer 1

"Every retail item you purchase has already cost energy -- and produced CO2 -- to grow, mine, manufacture, alter, or build, and then transport," writes author David de Rothschild in The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook.

"This energy is unrecoverable -- i.e., wasted totally -- unless the stuff is reused as is (for maximum return on energy investment), reused as something else (called 'new life reuse'), or recycled (for a lower return)."

Recycle your stuff with essential skill #19:

Advertise your trash.

Though you could go the old-fashioned route and advertise in the paper, why not go with the paper-less (and mostly free) advertising options online. From furniture to clothes to those oddball items that don't seem to fit into any category at all, chances are, someone in cyberspace wants what you don't.

De Rothschild suggests the following online advertising venues:

Ebay.com

Craigslist.org

FreeCycle.org

ClothingSwap.org

SwapStyle.com

Of course, while you're there turning your trash into someone else's treasure, dig around for some gold of your own. As de Rothschild notes, "You may never need to waste a day at the mall again."

For other recycling options, check out this link to NewDream.org.

Answer 2

Making an item completely from scratch is an energy intensive process and uses more of the finite raw materials on the planet.

Recycling also uses energy but often less than required originally.  It also re-uses some of the material that would otherwise have to come from out of the ground.

People think that re-cycling glass is good.  It would be better if we washed the bottles and re-used them (like they used to, which is why bottles used to have a deposit on them) instead of smashing them up and melting them into new bottles.  

So I think we have a long way to go in really efficiently re-using the materials we have available on the planet.

Answer 3

Aluminum:

The process of creating new aluminum requires refining it from bauxite ore (most commonly) Through various processes including electrolysis. Electrolysis requires a lot of electricity to flow through a fluid, and is not very efficient. Then once created The aluminum must be melted and shaped to it's required form.

Recycling of Aluminum can be simplified as to melt it, and reshape it into it's newly required shape.

Though my description of the process is not 100% complete for either process, it should be complete enough to answer your question. The same factors hold true for other metals, glass, and many other things. The processes are different for other items, but remember that these items have already been through some of the steps needed to prepare them for use, and wont need to repeat those steps. This is where your energy savings comes from.

Answer 4

because it uses energy to make those things and by recycling them it uses less energy.

Answer 5

It takes less energy to reuse (refab) an old item than it does to go and make a brand new item.....

Answer 6

recycling of paper saves our plants which reduces the deforestations,new techenique like manufacturing paper by cane sugar waste(pulp) helps in saving plants which ultimately keep a bit constant the oxygen level,in this process we will be able 2 reduce the raw material for paper i.e wood;we will reduce our time in cutting trees; n time will save both energy and money.actually we aill save raw material which in future is going to be very costly.and hence we will b able to save energy.

Answer 7

There are specialized facilities that sort and recycle all sorts of things along with what you put in your recycling bin. E-waste is becoming a real problem. E-waste is virtually all electronic equipment. They contain precious metals and other elements and materials that contaminate landfills or aren't biodegradable. I recycle e-waste at my local trash hauler's facility, or yearly at a hazardous waste roundup at a local college.

Batteries are also an issue. Did you know that you shouldn't throw batteries in the trash? They too can be turned in at hazardous waste collection facilities. I keep an old coffee can in my garage and throw my batteries in it and take them to the yearly roundup.

Recycling not only saves energy and natural resources, it saves space in landfills. I'm proud to say that in the town I live nearly 50% of the trash picked up is recycled.

Do some searches for MERF (materials recovery facility) most residential recycled products are put through them. And e-waste goes to a special facility where nearly everything is recycled.

After answering this last night, I learned that recycled glass melts at a lower temperature than new glass and some new bottles are made from as much as 90% recycled glass, thus saving energy.