Recycling question ???

Question

i do alot of recycling but was just wondering when recycling a large tub of butter today if it is efficient? As i had to use alot of hot water to clean the tub, then i will have to take a bag of plastic over a mile away in my car for it to be recycled- is the energy used from the washing and transportation of the plastic as well as the melting etc actually using more energy and doing more harm to the environment than just throwing the plastic away would cause? Thanks for your answers in advance x

Answer 1

Recycling is not efficient anything worth recycling has been recycled for years. The council recycling depots employ huge amounts of people have lots of vehicles and machines. Alot of the plastic you recycle is sorted and then sent to land fill. it's only the plastic milk bottles that are any good. If you want to save the planet you will have to finda better way, because right now you are just wasting your time. It's just a big scam for council workers to make up jobs for themselves.

Answer 2

wow, really good question.  Kudos for being so conscientious.  We have recycle pick up by the city, so I never thought of it like that.  I'm sure as long as you're making an effort to be efficient with your hot water and trips across town, you're still doing the environment a service!

Answer 3

Leave the butter tub till last in washing up. Collect as much as you can and then walk to the recycling plant! Saves cost and helps your fitness levels!

Answer 4

If you have collections in your area then use bio-degradeable bags or starch bags (they look loke platic but are made of starch and bio-degrade) and then place the butter in it. Put the whole lot in the collection box and job done!

If you cant do this then save up a lot of stuff to recycle and make one trip. You save up things like butter by putting them in the freezer until you get enough to recycle. this way it doesn't 'go off' or smell, it just takes up a little room in the freezer!!

Answer 5

it is a good question, but why not wash the pot after you have done the dishes, and i'm sure you didn't drive over to the recycle site just for one tub. Do you not have a recycle collection in area.

Answer 6

Plastic doesn't weigh much so try walking that mile to re-cycle it, or putting it in a backpack and cycling that mile.

Answer 7

If your recycling facility is only a mile away, why do you drive?

Many of the items that get recycled consume about the same energy as when they were first made.

The savings come in by limiting additional consumption of the resource, the initial mining, processing and latent energy from transportation. These can be huge depending upon the item.

The ultimate goal with recycling is to close the loop and eliminate the sourcing of additional natural resources. The more decentralized this can become, the more efficient it becomes.

It takes extra human effort to recycle, by not necessarily more energy.

It is the best method we've come up with yet to reduce our consumption of natural resources.

So keep up your good efforts !!!