jarrod
Senior Master
recycling & production both take energy, & energy costs money. hence, if companies are willing to pay for the materials to be recycled (like most metals), it is because it is more cost-effective to recycle them & therefore conserves energy. but if they don't pay, like with paper & plastic, it is because the energy expended in recycling is equal to or greater than the energy expended in new production. consider the gas & electricity used transporting recyclables to the recycling center, then compressing the materials, then transporting them, then processing them.
paper is a renewable resourse, plastic is a by-product of oil production, & glass is made from sand, a plentiful resource. therefore, recycling any of these consumes more energy than it saves. metals on the other hand are a finite resource which take more energy to discover & mine than to recycle.
jf
paper is a renewable resourse, plastic is a by-product of oil production, & glass is made from sand, a plentiful resource. therefore, recycling any of these consumes more energy than it saves. metals on the other hand are a finite resource which take more energy to discover & mine than to recycle.
jf