RECYCLING
Recycling is the process of turning something we would normally dispose of into a new, useful product.
The recycling process is complete when we buy products that have been made from recycled materials.
Why Recycle?
- It conserves valuable resources
- Avoids environmental damage associated with extracting raw materials
- Saves energy and money at extraction, reprocessing and disposal stages
- Helps to reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill or incineration
- Raises environmental awareness
For more information on Recycling in West Sussex visit Recycle for West Sussex
Recycling is not the only option available. We should try to REDUCE and RE-USE our rubbish wherever possible.
We can RE-USE items by visiting FREECYCLE. Freecycle is an online network matching people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them (for free). The goal is to keep usable items our of landfill sites.
What happens to the collected material?
Once your materials have been collected from either the recycling baskets or bring banks they are taken to a Materials Reclamation Facility (MRF). The materials are sorted, baled and transported to re-processing plants.
Aluminium and glass can be recycled indefinitely. Paper is de-inked and pulped before new paper products can be produced. Plastics are shredded and flaked and used to manufacture recycled or part-recycled products e.g. garden furniture.
What can we recycle?
Nearly 60% of a household waste bin can be recycled.
Using a combination of kerbside recycling, community recycling points and Household Waste Recycling Sites, a variety of items can be recycled from aerosols to textiles.
Buy Recycled
For recycling to truly work we need to 'close the loop' and buy products that have been made from recycled materials.
A comprehensive guide to those products can be found at: http://www.recycledproducts.org.uk/
Plastic Bag Recycling
Did you know that 150 million plastic bags are used each week in the UK and that on average we use each plastic bag for approximately 12 minutes before throwing it away?
We need your help in reducing our reliance on these single-use bags in the District. We need to encourage re-use of bags and therefore reduce the amount of plastic bags that end up in landfill.
Within the District, the traders of Henfield and the Henfield Community Partnership started a campaign against plastic bags in their High Street. From 3 May, most of the village’s 40-plus retail outlets will follow the good example set by places like Modbury and Hebden Bridge and will stop handing out plastic bags, offering environmentally friendly alternatives instead. To encourage everyone to bring bags with them when shopping, each household has been given a free reusable cotton bag with the eye-catching ‘Fantastic, no plastic’ design (by local freelance designer Helen Boosey).
If you are interested in helping with a campaign in your area, please get in touch.