What kind of materials are recycled

The recycling of steel goes back to the Roman Empire, when soldiers collected instruments of war left in trenches to produce new weapons. In fact, steel can be endlessly transformed into new objects without loss of quality. Rebar for reinforced concrete, wires, nails, and some metal profiles are generally made from scrap metal.

Recycling concrete allows construction waste to be reused and construction costs to be reduced. Until recently, recycled concrete was only used as a subfloor. But tests are showing that concrete aggregate can create structural elements from 30 up to 40 MPa with the right technologies. Importantly, recycled aggregates are also anywhere from ten to fifteen percent lighter per unit of volume than virgin concrete, which entails less weight per cubic meter and thus less material, transportation, and overall project costs.

Hardwoods can last hundreds of years, if kept properly. They can be used in large structural parts or as slats for the manufacture of other artifacts such as crates, pallets, or supports for various purposes.

But even softer, cheaper woods can be recycled, especially as a raw material for the panel industry. The most common use of recycled wood today occurs with the complete grinding of wood and manufacture of MDF sheets for the production of woodwork.

Another option, if none of the above processes can be applied, is to dispose of wood waste for biomass production by burning it in industrial furnaces. Recycling plaster in construction is feasible, but if it is improperly disposed of, it can emit flammable and highly toxic hydrogen sulphide, contaminating the soil and groundwater.

However, if suitably processed, recycled plaster retains the same physical and mechanical characteristics as conventional plaster at a relatively low cost. Expanded polystyrene, or EPS, is a material that can be recycled as well. EPS becomes a raw material for the manufacture of new plastic products when it is crushed and compacted. It can be used for finishes or even paints. Be sure to rinse them out before recycling them.

Glass Containers Glass containers used in food and beverage packaging are percent recyclable. They can be substituted for up to 95 percent of raw materials when new glass products are being made, making glass recycling highly friendly to the environment.

The more materials that can be sent to the recycling center, the better off the environment can be. These 10 items should always be recycled from both your home and your business.

When in doubt, check with your local municipality to verify how and where these items should be recycled. Want to learn more about Lakeshore Recycling Systems? Do you live in the below areas and are you ready to pay your bill?

Click Here. For all other Customers incluing roll-off, Pit Stop, Clean Sweep, commercial and multi-family accounts that wish to pay their bill:. Are you a City of Wheaton Customer and ready to pay your bill? Contact your local municipality to learn the best way to recycle car batteries in your area.

More than , computers are thrown away in the U. Yet almost all parts of a computer are able to be recycled: plastic, metal and glass. Cell phones make up 65, tons of electronic landfill waste every year. Phones have valuable metals, copper and plastic, and by recycling phones, manufacturers can recover these resources from discarded phones instead of from our planet. Contact your local municipality to learn more about recycling electronics where you live, or head to Waste Management's informative website to learn more.

Rinse out your plastic, metal and glass recycling materials before placing them in your recycling bin. Paper materials should be clean and dry. If your pizza box has cheese or grease stuck to the box, it's garbage pro-tip: If the top of the box is clean, rip the box in half and recycle the part that's clean! Remember, avoid recycling items that aren't truly recyclable. When non-recyclables are put into recycling, it has to be sorted out by hand, or the entire batch of recycling is now contaminated and ends up in the landfill.

Lindsey is finishing her M. Environmental Conservation degree at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She spent four summers communicating science in Denali National Park and has continued to search for ways to communicate science in and outside of work. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, backpacking, making music, and sitting around the campfire. Lead your families, friends and communities in new recycling initiatives.

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