An excellent way of saving energy is recycling, as it helps reduce the amount of energy needed for new products. By recycling materials such as paper, plastic, and metal, conversion into new products is possible.
The process saves a lot of energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing process. The recycling process also reduces the amount of waste that fills landfills and ends up saving energy.
Energy savings and resources are important for the environment to recycle in the future.
The need for extraction, transportation, and processing of raw materials can be reduced by recycling, which requires a significant amount of energy. Energy resources can be conserved by reusing materials, and greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced.
It is quite known that products produced from recycled materials require less energy as compared to products manufactured from virgin materials.
For example,
- Aluminum from recycled cans uses 95% less energy than making it from scratch.
- Recycling paper saves 60% more energy than making new paper from trees.
It is not just about saving energy; recycling supports reducing the demand for new raw materials to prevent the displacement or exploitation of vulnerable communities.
The air and water pollution caused by hazardous disposal also reduces any unwanted problems. In today’s age, recycling is a prime step toward creating a sustainable future. It should be seen as a top priority in every country.
Let’s look at some of the important examples justifying the role of recycling in saving energy:
- Recycling one tonne of paper:
- An average American home can be powered for six months.
- 7,000 gallons of water
- 3 cubic yards of landfill space
- Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by one metric tonne of carbon equivalent.
- Recycling one tonne of aluminum cans:
- New aluminum cans from bauxite ore are made by using 95% of the energy.
- It provides 14,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity.
- 14 cubic yards of landfill space
- Greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 1.4 metric tonnes of carbon equivalent.
- Recycling one tone of plastic can:
- New plastic products are made by using 66% of the energy from virgin materials.
- 1,700 kilowatt hours of electricity
- 3 cubic yards of landfill space
- Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by 1.3 metric tonnes of carbon equivalent.
In order to sum it up, recycling saves energy in many genuine ways, such as:
- The need to make materials from scratch can be reduced.
- Saving electricity by reducing the amount of energy needed for new product production
- Natural resource conservation is possible.
- Greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by reducing the amount of energy needed to produce new products.
Sources:- EIA, saveonenergy, gexaenergy, Quick electricity, Harmony, compactor management company, Greentumble, americangeosciences, lambdageeks, housegrail