10 Facts about recycling
Recycling makes a huge difference to the environment and even the smallest things can go a long way in saving energy and resources. Therefore we’ve put together a list of some facts about recycling and small tips that you can use on a day-to-day basis.
Recycling just 1 magazine saves enough energy to boil the kettle 9 times
If all cans were recycled in the UK, we would need 14 million fewer dustbins (1)
The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours or a low-energy bulb for 20 hours (2)
Since the introduction of the 5p bag charge in October 2015, only 640 million bags were used in the 7 major supermarkets in England in the 6 months after, compared to the 3.84 billion bags that were estimated to have been used in the last 6 months 2014 (3)
Recycling cardboard uses 24% less energy than making cardboard from raw materials (4)
Most landfill sites are made up of a third of packaging materials that could be recycled (5)
Every second there is part of the rainforest that is being cut down. In fact, we probably lose over 80,000 football fields worth of rainforest each and every day (6)
Every tonne of paper recycled saves 17 trees (7)
One drip per second from a leaky tap wastes 540 gallons of water a year (8)
It takes 50 times more energy to make a battery than it gives during its life, therefore you should always recharge them if you can (7)
Sources:
1 –http://www.recycling-guide.org.uk/facts.html
2 –http://www.recycling-revolution.com/recycling-facts.html
3 –http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-36917174
4 –https://twitter.com/bagnallmorris/status/835066794079633408
5 –http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-recycling-facts.php
6 –http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-tropical-rainforest-facts.php
7 –http://www.recycle-more.co.uk/household-zone/top-facts
8 –http://www.factmonster.com/science/environment/recycling-facts.html