Recycling can be considered as the formation of new products out of old ones! Quite a simple explanation, and a very straightforward process if you know how to do it right. However, not everyone can.
To start with, let's think of common household items. Plastic bottles (which we should start reducing), papers (something we should also start reducing) and metal cans. These all have something in common - they can be recycled. Materials such as these, instead of being thrown away with the general waste, can be carefully separated from the normal household waste and put aside.
Single-stream and Multi-Stream recycling are the two ways in which you can recycle. Single-stream is when households put all their recycling in one bag and this then gets sorted at a recycling plant whilst Multi-stream is when the material is sorted out beforehand. In Malta, single-stream is widely used, however multi-stream is done when people opt to go to recycling bins, and manually do the recycling there separating the paper, glass and metal. Malta also introduced new initiatives, such as introducing the plastic recycling bins to help multi-stream recycling slowly work its way into our home and to be more conscious of what we recycle.
Recycling also has many benefits. From being highly beneficial to the environment by reducing the amount of waste in current landfills, and preventing new ones from forming up, it can also create a number of jobs across the entire process, which will also help the country economically. Basically a win-win, for everyone!
Recycling also makes part of the famous three Rs - reduce, reuse, recycle. These are considered to be the fundamentals of waste management, and are key to help live life in a sustainable way. They are also easy to implement. For example, clothes can either be rehomed or repurposed for a more fashionable look, and glass jars can be reused to store new foods or turn it into a small DIY project by making it into a pencil holder, or a festive candle holder.
Recycling is fairly straightforward. It’s as simple as separating the recyclables from the general waste. Most materials such as paper or plastic are easily and widely recycled but not everything can be. If you are wondering if the plastic wrapper is recyclable, services such as “GreenPak” will definitely help you out. Recycling something you shouldn't have can have disastrous effects on the whole recycling process. Machinery which costs a lot of money can be severely damaged affecting the whole process. Oftentimes, the right thing to do is to toss it out.
So this time, think about how you can reduce waste this holiday season. Technology is bringing about major improvements and giving us new ways how to recycle, but it all starts from us. And remember, a small change can mean a big difference to help make the world a greener space.
Written by: Nicholas Aquilina