Approximately 6 million tonnes of Plastic Waste goes
UN-RECYCLED every year in India
While recycling sounds like a lot of effort, in reality, with simple steps you can recycle a big portion of your waste and avoid landfills. It only takes a little bit of segregation effort daily and a regular call to a recycler to get your recycling trash picked up.
Take a look at our Resource Centre for more details on Recycling options and organisations that help with Recycling in your city.
FACTS ABOUT RECYCLING
Did you know that you could reduce your landfill waste by up to 90% if you recycle!
Kitchen Waste/ Wet Waste/ Organic Waste:
- All your Kitchen and Organic Waste (Wet Waste) contributes to 50% of household waste and can be easily composted – even in your home!
- Composting has a lot of benefits starting from converting your trash into nutritional treasure for the soil, diverting food waste from landfills, eliminating the need for chemicals, conserving water and leading to growth of healthy plants and nutrient-rich food
- It does not take much space or money to compost – can be done within a household, in an apartment complex, school, office complex – anywhere! Take a look at home composting facilities in our Resource Centre.
Paper:
- Recycling Paper not only saves trees it also saves water: Every kilo of recycled paper saves 35 litres of water, which is about 2 buckets!
- One ton of recycled office paper saves 4,100 Kwh of energy, 9 barrels of oil, 54 million BTU’s of energy, 27 kilos of air pollutants from being released, 26,500 litres of water, and 2.5 cubic meters of landfill space
- One ton of recycled newsprint saves 601 Kwh of energy, 1.7 barrels of oil, 10.2 million BTU’s of energy, 27 kilos of air pollutants from being released, 26,500 gallons of water, and 3.5 cubic meters of landfill space
Glass:
- Glass can be recycled infinitely! It takes 75% less energy to recycle a glass bottle than making one from raw materials!
- One recycled glass bottle would save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.
Metal:
- Metal, like glass, can be infinitely recycled unless mixed with plastic (like packets of Chips). It saves precious mining effort each time metal is recycled!
- Aluminium cans can be recycled and ready to use in just 6 weeks
- A ton of soda cans made with recycled aluminium saves an amazing 21,000 kilowatt hours by reducing the virgin bauxite (bozite) ore that would have to be mined, shipped, and refined. That’s a 95% energy savings.
Plastic:
- Most of the common types of Plastic can be recycled unless it is contaminated with food or any hazardous waste (medicines, lead based paints etc.). Know more about which plastics can be recycled in our Product Knowledge Center
- A ton of PET plastic containers made with recycled plastic conserves about 7,200 kilowatt hours
- One ton of recycled plastic saves 5,774 Kwh of energy, 16.3 barrels of oil, 98 million BTU’s of energy, and 30 cubic yards of landfill space
E-Waste & Batteries:
- E-Waste can and should only be recycled by authorised businesses. The good news is that all your electronic waste can be recycled – so this should never reach the trash. Refer our Resource Centre for detailed options.
- Batteries are hazardous waste material which make our land and water toxic. Recycle them instead of throwing in the trash.
Clothes & Shoes:
- According to Greenpeace, global clothing production doubled from 2000 to 2014. The average person buys 60 percent more items of clothing every year and keeps them for about half as long as 15 years ago, generating a huge amount of waste
- 95% of textiles and clothing are recyclable
- Shoes can take up to 1000 years to break down
- There are multiple organisations in India who collect clothes for Charity so instead of throwing your old clothes in the bin, donate them instead. Check out the list in our Resource Centre
KNOW WHAT YOU CAN RECYCLE
Easy to Recycle Items:
- Kitchen Waste -> Compost
- Paper
- Glass Bottles – Remember to recycle metal lids and plastic lids separately
- Aluminium Cans
- Metal Waste (without any plastic in it)
- Plastic Bottles
- Milk Packets
- Most plastic products except Plastic Numbers 3,6 and 7 (check Product Knowledge Centre for more information)
Tough to Recycle:
- E-Waste – call and schedule a pick-up with an authorised e-Waste Recycler
- Clothes – Donate don’t waste
- Bulbs, Tube-lights etc.: These can only be recycled if kept intact. Most Battery recyclers also accept them. However, please check with your recycler before sending them.
- Hazardous Waste such as medical waste – Your local hospital can help you in getting rid of the same in a responsible manner
- Disposable Sanitary napkins and diapers – These cannot be recycled and due to lack of sufficient incineration facilities in India, they land up in the landfills causing pollution. Switching to reusable options (listed in the Product Knowledge Centre) even for a part of your consumption can go a long way in reducing landfill waste.
Take a look at our Resource Centre for more details on Recycling options and organisations that help with Recycling in your city.
If you need more help finding the right recycling organisation to meet your needs, drop us a note and we will try our best to help.
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