Where does it go
Ever wondered what happens to your bottles and paper after you've deposited them in the recycling bank? Here's where they end up.
Paper
Paper is sorted at a paper mill according to
type/quality and staples and paperclips are removed. Coloured inks
are washed away by soaking in chemicals. It is shredded, beaten to
a pulp and mixed with water to create a 'slurry'. Adding wood or
cotton fibres to the slurry turns it into office grade paper. The
slurry is spread onto racks and passed through giant rollers that
squeeze out the water and press it into sheets. No glue is used –
the paper is held together with cellulose fibres. It is dried,
treated to give it a smooth finish, then cut, packaged and used
again. Paper cannot be recycled indefinitely as the cellulose
fibres break down each time, thereby degrading the quality. Once it
has reached this stage, it is used for insulation or composting.
The paper collected in Ealing is recycled into newsprint.
Cans
Food cans, drinks cans and aerosols are sorted into
steel and aluminium, using a giant magnet to pull out the steel
cans. They are crushed into bales and sent to steel and
aluminium-processing mills. At the mills they are shredded, then
melted at high temperatures. The melted metals are left to cool in
blocks before being pressed into thin sheets of plating that make
new cans. Steel and aluminium does not degrade and can be used an
infinite number of times.
Glass
Glass bottles and jars are sorted according to colour,
cleaned then crushed into 'cullet' (crushed glass). The cullet is
sent to a bottle manufacturer and melted at high temperatures
before other raw materials are added to make new glass. The molten
glass is channelled into the bottle-making machines. The new
bottles are sent to food and drink manufacturers ready to be used
again. Glass can be used an infinite number of times as it never
degrades. Glass cullet may also be used in road aggregate, thus
saving on natural resources.
Garden waste
The green waste collected in pink biodegradable bags is taken
to a transfer facility in Brentford. The biodegradable bags are
starch-based and go together with the waste to break down as part
of the natural composting process. At Brentford the material is
shredded and then packed onto trains for haulage to a composting
plant in Oxfordshire. Here it is laid out in large rows, or
'windrows', which are turned over regularly so that air can
circulate. In four to ten weeks the waste turns into a rich soil
substitute which is useful in horticulture.
Textiles
All clothes, blankets, towels etc are sorted into
different grades. Any good quality clothing is collected in charity
banks and then sold in the charity shop to raise money. The
remainder is sorted into summer and winter clothes and distributed
to developing countries around the world according to their climate
eg jumpers and blankets go to Eastern Europe whilst shorts and
t-shirts are sent to Africa and India. These clothes are sold to
local traders who repair items that require it and sell them to
their local community. Thus textile recycling provides much needed
local jobs, clothing at affordable prices and raises money for
charity.
Any textiles that are beyond repair are made into industrial cleaning cloths. There is little or no waste left at the end of the sorting process.
Shoes
Pairs of shoes are sorted according to their condition
after collection and distributed worldwide to developing countries.
Resident traders and craftsmen purchase the shoes at very low,
affordable prices. Local people then conduct refurbishment work on
shoes that require it, thus creating more local employment. Shoes
are then sold within the community at extremely low prices thus
providing affordable footwear to the local community.
Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages are shredded and used as animal bedding.