greenliving
“Aluminum
RECYCLING REFUSE
What Happens after the Blue Bin is Emptied
by Avery Mack E
ach blue recycle bin filled with plastic, aluminum, glass, paper and cardboard helps the environment, because it reduces landfill, takes less energy to repurpose materials than to make new ones and gently reminds us that thoughtful consumption is healthier for people and the planet. But what do all those recyclables turn into?
Repurposed Plastics Plastic milk jugs turn into colorful playthings at Green Toys, of Mill Valley, California. Repurposing one pound of recycled milk jugs instead of making new plastic saves enough energy to run a computer for a month. All packag- ing is made from recycled content and printed with soy ink, so it can go into the blue bin again.
GreenToys.com’s online counter shows the number of containers recycled—more than 10 million to date. Fila Golf’s Principal Designer
Nancy Robitaille says, “Recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate), a core Fila cooling fabric, is used throughout our collection. Each fully recycled PET garment reuses about two-and-a-half
22 NA Twin Cities Edition
20-ounce plastic pop bottles.” Patagonia customers are encour- aged to return their old coat when buying a new one. Coats in good condition are given to people in need; the PET fleece lining from retired coats is sent to ReFleece, in Somerville, Massa- chusetts, where it is cleaned and turned into recyclable protective cases for iPads, e-readers and cell phones.
Transforming Aluminum
and Glass In 2012, Do
Something.org partnered with Alcoa to challenge teens to recycle aluminum cans. For every 50 cans collected during a two-month period, they were awarded a chance to win a $5,000 scholarship. The sponsors note that recycling one can saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours. The final total was 1,152,569 cans kept out of landfills.
natwincities.com
can be recycled an infinite number of times,” says Beth Schmitt, direc- tor of recycling programs for Alcoa, which has centers nationwide and cash-back programs for community fundraisers. “We re-melt the collected cans, then roll out coils of new can sheets. This process can be repeated without any loss of strength—that’s why we call aluminum the ‘miracle metal.’ If every American recycled just one more can per week, we would remove 17 billion cans from landfills each year.” Wine bottles become designer drinking glasses at Rolf Glass, in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. “Our designs give used bottles a second life,” says owner Rolf Poeting. Refresh Glass, of Phoenix, Arizona, salvages and preps the bottles. “Then, our glass cutting and diamond-wheel engraving technol- ogy transforms them into sophisticated Glacier Glass,” continues Poeting. “This seems to be a trend in many industries, to find additional uses for another com- pany’s recycled products.”
Second Life for Paper Purina’s Yesterday’s News and Second Nature litter for cats and dogs, respec- tively, is made from recycled paper and absorbs waste upward from the bottom of the litter box for easier cleaning. The unscented litter pellets are three times as absorbent as clay, non-toxic and nearly dust-free. Hedgehogs, mice, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs and reptiles also like Yester-
day’s News for bedding. On average, 44 million pounds of paper are annually recycled for these products. According to the Environmental
Protection Agency, the United States annually generates 11 million tons of as- phalt shingle waste, mostly from re-roof- ing tear-offs and new installation scrap, comprising 8 percent of construction waste. Each recycled ton saves a barrel of oil. OFIC North America, of Freder- icksburg, Virginia, creates its Ondura
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32