Thousands of films have already been made and millions of pages written down that nature is important and needs to be protected, but the level of pollution of the planet is growing every year. The situation is close to catastrophic. However, once in a dead end, it is not necessary to stay there. Many civilized countries have long realized how important it is not to throw out the garbage, but to turn it into recyclables and recycle. What is this recyclable material, and how are things going with it in Russia?
What is recyclable material?
Recycled materials or recyclables are a type of waste that can be used as a resource for further processing. According to the domestic classification, 5 types of hazardous waste are allocated (all waste is a priori hazardous, read, toxic). The gradation is carried out according to the degree of danger to nature and the ability of the waste to biodegradation:
- The first class of hazard includes the infamous mercury lamps, materials containing mercury and arsenic, and transformer oils. There are not very many such wastes, but they are extremely toxic for both humans and the environment. The first class of waste must be recycled, since getting into the natural environment, it poisons everything around.
- The second hazard class includes, for example, batteries and accumulators, which are also recyclable.
- As a rule, the majority of municipal solid waste falls into the fifth and (less) fourth hazard classes. These are practically non-hazardous and low-hazardous waste. Since they do not poison the natural environment, in our country they are simply dumped and stored there.
Why do I need to recycle?
Despite the fact that basically all household garbage is collected at landfills (more like landfills), the practice of providing areas of the city with recycling centers is gaining momentum.
It is very important not to go past these beautiful tanks, but to bring in all the garbage from the house that corresponds to the markings on them. Batteries, thermometers, mercury lamps pollute the soil, making it toxic and unsuitable for sowing and growing seeds. On such a land, neither a bird will sing, nor a flower will bloom. So do we want to live?
A thousand cubic meters of forest is cut down annually for the production of books, magazines and paper. Meanwhile, it is the forest that gives us the opportunity to live on the planet, as it provides oxygen. By cutting down forest belts, people also lose their natural noise isolation and odor absorbers from industry. Therefore, waste paper is simply necessary.
Types of Recycled Materials
At the moment, the world has come up with technologies for processing 95% of all materials. The most common types of recyclables are:
- Waste paper. Previously, in schools, everyone handed over waste paper, organizing competitions, who will donate more, and received prizes for this. Childhood ends, with it ends and the collection of waste paper, and very in vain! Waste paper recycling centers are located in any city, and there are a lot of them in megacities. It is enough just to search the Internet and make a good habit of taking newspapers and cardboard boxes there. New developers very often put containers for collecting paper and cardboard for every 3-4 homes. Take a walk around the area, meet a lot of new and useful! It’s important to understand that glossy magazines and juice bags (Tetra Pak) aren’t waste paper.
- Plastic. Plastic packaging and bottles have become a source of pollution of the oceans and the entire biosphere. Animals that accidentally swallow plastic often die. The habitats of many species are being destroyed, food chains are being broken. These are not jokes at all. There are many plastic recycling points; information on each city is available on the Internet.
- Scrap metal. This includes aluminum cans.
- Glass container. Glass containers are recyclable materials that accumulate in large quantities in landfills, but which are very easily processed. The glass is easy to wash, and therefore it is not difficult to recycle it into a new package.
Mandatory for recycling
There are those waste, the processing of which is mandatory:
- Batteries With batteries and battery cells, things are more complicated. In Russia, only a few factories have the technical ability to recycle batteries, as this is a complex and expensive process. Sometimes the shoulder path from the city to the plant is disastrously huge. However, in no case should you throw the batteries in the trash. For them, recycling is carried out in the form of eco-boxes.
- Mercury lamps and thermometers. Like batteries, mercury is toxic to nature and humans; it cannot be buried at landfills. Ecoboxes are also installed for lamps and thermometers.
It is important to understand that a broken thermometer cannot be disposed of on its own. It is necessary to call the demercurization service, which will eliminate the accident and neutralize the room and waste.
Reception and processing
In Russia, in fact, there are a huge number of recycling points, just people are poorly informed about them. The most common among them are eco-boxes and eco-vehicles. The eco-box map can be found on the Internet, and it really is a huge network. Sometimes such an ecobox is installed in a neighboring house or school, but we just don’t know about it.
An eco-car travels around the city and receives all kinds of waste - from light bulbs to broken appliances. Simply find out the mode of operation and parking of the eco-car. Stationary collection points for glass containers, scrap metal and waste paper also work everywhere.
Home processing
Recycled materials are not only waste and a resource for processing. Practically safe waste can be used in everyday life. Sometimes this is a great tool for inventing homemade recycled crafts and jewelry.
- From the old bathroom you can make a pond for a summer residence, you just need to connect the imagination and the next of kin.
- Spent tires can become flowerbeds and decorate the lawn.
- Glass and plastic containers will take on a new life if they are decorated with scrapbooking decorations, painted with paints, added appliqués and even turned on the imagination. Hand-made today at the peak of popularity!
- Any housewife knows that it is better to find anything for seedlings than juice and yogurt boxes!
“When a blade of grass is torn, the whole universe shudders,” the Upanishads say. Nature has a huge resource of tolerance, however, and it is not eternal. The idea of living in harmony and respect is the only true policy in relations with nature.