Plastic waste is a nuisance. It’s polluting our oceans and harming our marine life badly. We see pictures of sea animals dying by suffocation. Why did they suffocate? The reason is that humans are using their resources mindlessly and harming nature. Almost 75% of our waste stream is composed of recyclable material then why is it being insensitively thrown into oceans?

When it comes to recycling, there are many things necessary before and after the rubbish removal, for example, separating your garbage that can be recycled.

Here are the most important 10 facts about recycling you maybe didn’t know yet:

Did you know these 10 facts?

1. Every year the amount of waste we generate increases: in the last 40 years there has been more garbage in the world than from the origin of man until 1970.

2. Our garbage consists of 45% organic matter, 22% paper, and cardboard, 10% plastic, 7% glass, 4% metal and 10% other waste.

3. By recycling a plastic bottle, we save the energy needed to keep a light bulb on for 6 hours.

4. For every ton of trash transformed into recycled material. We save 1,500 kg of wood, 100,000 liters of water and 221 kg of diesel.

5. Metal containers can be recycled without losing quality. This would avoid extracting new materials. 70% of steel containers are recycled. This may lead to the reduction of CO² emissions equivalent to 3.9 million tons in a single year and saving water about half of regular consumption.

6. When you need to produce 1,000 kg of good quality paper, there would be a requirement of about 3,300 kg of wood. Recycling paper and cardboard is essential to save energy, prevent water pollution and waste and save forests.

7. Recycling 1 ton of newspaper saves up to 4,000 kWh of electricity. This amount of energy is enough to supply a 3-room house for a whole year. 7,000 newspapers or one ton of paper equals 3 m³ of wood equals to 13 medium-sized trees.

8. One kilogram of new containers is obtained from each kilogram of the recycled glass container. Glass doesn't lose any of its qualities when it is recycled.

9. The recycling of a ton of used glass containers saves 42 Kwh of energy.

1- Recycling rules are not always clear

One big issue is that recycling rules are not always clear and not consistently applied well. For instance, here are some simple rules to follow to sort correctly.

To sort your waste, there are generally three trash cans:

• Recyclable Trash

• The bio-waste, and

• Glass waste.

As a general rule, the glass bin accommodates all glass-based waste. The recyclable trash is what can be reused and recycled or up-cycled, such as plastics, paper, cardboard, and metal, while the bio-waste has our typical kitchen waste.

2- How to recycle glass: beware of misconceptions

Regarding the glass, again things are not so simple. Of course, glass bottles such as wine, beer, milk or fruit juice are recycled through the glass bin. However, many glasses can't be recycled. This is the case with glass tableware (glasses, plates or other), Pyrex dishes (they have a different melting temperature than glass), bulbs or crystal, mirrors, windows, and other car windows. Only the packaging glasses (bottles, jars, and flasks) are recyclable that most of the people do even in recycling businesses.

3- How to sort and recycle it?

For the rest, it's pretty simple. Most of the household waste is thrown away with your ordinary household waste.

Most plastic or polystyrene food packaging, plastic films, aluminum foil, broken table glasses or too dirty or too wet cartons are non-recycled waste and must be thrown in your conventional bin. This is also the case for food waste for which there is currently no specific sector. On the other hand, it is possible to sort them to make compost.

4- How recycling can improve the marine environment?

Around the world, every year more than one hundred thousand mammals, fish, birds die due to waste is thrown into the sea. The fact is that animals seek into plastic bags and other garbage for the search of food. They choke on it, suffocate or simply get confused in it. The process of recycling would reduce the practice of throwing trash into the sea. This practice ultimately reduces marine life risks.

5- What you can't throw in the trash

Please note, a lot of waste can't be thrown into a conventional bin. This is the case with batteries, electronic equipment and other wastes that are hazardous or contain materials harmful to the environment or health. For some of such waste, there are specific channels.

6- Aerosol cans

Aerosol cans have chemicals and propellants. They are dangerous for disposal. However, it is hard to identify whether they are vacant or not. Ensure before dispose

7- Old appliances

Broken and used appliances (like freezer, air-conditioners, and refrigerators) have insulating foams, refrigerants, and various materials. These substances are hazardous in case they are exposed to the atmosphere. It is better to donate them to NGO and charity. You can also take them to the institutions that recycle appliances.

8- Batteries

Batteries are entirely composed of harmful chemicals. They can infiltrate the supply system of water and can cause severe environmental and health risks. You can also drop these batteries at the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) facility.

9- Cosmetics

Traditional cosmetics contain harmful chemical substances. These substances can’t be removed by water treatment. That’s why it’s better not to throw them and recycle the containers after you’ve finished the product.

10- Expired or unused prescription drugs

You must never think to flush expired or used drugs to the toilet or put them into the trash. When they are exposed to the environment, their constituents remain in the air in the form of vapor or minute particles. This allows the drugs to leach into the water and soil. They are disasters for the environment.

Conclusion

If one paper towel is thrown into the sea, it will disappear in three months, matches and small slivers will dissolve in six months. A cigarette butt thrown into the sea will dissolve from one year to five years, and a packet of polyethylene will float from ten to twenty years. Products made of nylon will dissolve in thirty to forty years, and a tin can in five hundred. An ordinary glass bottle will disappear only after a thousand years.

These numbers can make you realize the importance of proper disposal of the garbage. Also, you would have realized how these parameters may affect the environment, including marine life.