Reasons that will make you start recycling.

Nowadays, our lifestyle favours consumerism, we are the “throwaway” generation.

Every year we buy tons of products that, practically at the same time, end up in landfills. However, thanks to simple gestures such as recycling, we can counteract this effect by giving a second use to materials that are still useful. Recycling consists of creating new articles from others that have already been used, reducing the use of new natural resources, energy consumption and the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

We will tell you some reasons and curiosities about recycling.

5 reasons to recycle:

  • According to the EPE, the total recycling rate in our country is around 35%. In other words, only 3.5 out of 10 people recycle. Therefore, more than 60% of the waste generated is not deposited in the recycling bins. Spain is still a long way from achieving the minimum target set by the European Commission of recycling around 50% by 2025.

  • The results of recycling are there, even if they are not immediately visible. In 2021, 2.05 million tonnes of CO2 were prevented from polluting the atmosphere, which is an amount equivalent to the amount emitted by heating systems in Asturias for a whole year. Impressive! But that’s not all, it also saved 20.50 million cubic metres of water and 5.27 million megawatt-hours of energy – a big step towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future for everyone!
  • Less energy is needed to create a recycled product than a new one and, by saving energy, less dependence on oil will be necessary.
  • Raw materials are not unlimited. Recycling saves on raw materials and uses fewer natural resources, for which our nature will be grateful.

  • It generates jobs focused on improvements in the recycling chain, from waste management operators to “eco-designers”, engineers, educators, architects, etc.

5 recycling facts
  • According to the EPE, the total recycling rate in our country is around 35%. In other words, only 3.5 out of 10 people recycle. Therefore, more than 60% of the waste generated is not deposited in the recycling bins. Spain is still a long way from achieving the minimum target set by the European Commission of recycling around 50% by 2025.

  • Making recycled paper uses 60% less energy and creating one tonne of recycled paper saves 30,000 litres of water National Geographic (on the importance of recycling paper).

  • We could save millions of trees by recycling paper and protecting our forests. Did you know that 8 cereal boxes can make a book? Non-biodegradable cardboard can take more than 150 years to decompose.

  • A plastic cup, for example, if not recycled, takes 1,000 years to decompose. And single-use plastic cutlery takes 500 years. According to Ecoembes, a plastic bag takes 150 years to decompose.

  • Glass even takes 4,000 years to disappear from our environment. But a glass bottle is 100% recyclable, so we can use it indefinitely.

Recycling and reusing are vitally important if we want to extend the life of our planet. You can reuse the water from our vegetables to give it culinary use. Find out what it is and what it is for in our article.

5 tips for recycling
  • If you have children, recycle your waste by putting it in coloured containers. This way, they will get used to recycling by playing and they will know from an early age where to put each container.

  • Making recycled paper uses 60% less energy and creating one tonne of recycled paper saves 30,000 litres of water National Geographic (on the importance of recycling paper).

  • Save space by folding cardboard boxes and taking them to the blue container.

  • Never throw used oil down the sink. With just one litre of it, you can contaminate up to 1,000 litres of clean water. Take it to a clean point.

  • Glass even takes 4,000 years to disappear from our environment. But a glass bottle is 100% recyclable, so we can use it indefinitely.

Recycling is a decision that contributes to everyone’s well-being. More and more of us are recycling, but we still have a long way to go to recycle and be more sustainable for our planet. Recycling is a task to which we must all commit ourselves 100% in our daily lives. Will you join us?