Love Southland Recycle
Recycling saves resources and saving resources saves the world. Recycling turns waste materials into new products and reduces waste to landfill.
What is Recycling?
Recycling involves processing materials so that they can be used as raw materials for another industry. They may end up in the same product (such as cardboard boxes recycled into new cardboard boxes) or they may be very different for example, steel cans and cars are re-made into scaffolding poles or reinforcing bars for strengthing concrete. An old car tyre can be made into a wallet, a mobile phone can be broken down into its several parts and made into copper piping, road cones and jewellery.
By recycling we are preventing the 'waste' of useful materials and resources as well as saving raw resources from having to be used.
Benefits of recycling waste
- Reduce the amount of waste going to landfill
- Materials you recycle are reprocessed into new products
- Using recycled materials to manufacture new items can be cheaper than using raw materials and can mean less energy being used
- Recycling helps preserve natural resources and protects the environment for you and future generations
- It's easy, 7 out of 10 Southlanders have access to recycling services
You can save money by shopping wisely to reduce waste, reusing materials and buying recycled products
- Recycling creates jobs
- Saves energy - a lot of energy is needed to make new products. Energy is saved by reducing or reusing the amount of products that we buy
- Reduces water pollution - making goods from recycled materials generates far less water pollution than manufacturing from virgin materials
- Waste disposal contributes to global warming. Industrial processes and waste account for 8% of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions
- Protects our wildlife. Using recycled materials reduce the need to damage forest, wetlands, rivers and other places essential to wildlife.
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