Background guide #3

Recycling

Despite the increase in doorstep collections, Britain still lags way behind most other European nations on recycling. Here's our essential guide to avoiding landfill.

What is recycling?

Recycling means turning an old or unwanted product into something new by reprocessing the material that it is made from. Along with reducing and reusing, it's one of the "three Rs" that many people consider the basis of environmentally friendly living.

Why recycle?

One of the key benefits of recycling is that it can reduce energy consumption - and therefore greenhouse emissions. That's because it takes more energy to create products from virgin materials than it does to create them from existing products.

Take aluminium, for example: to make 1kg of metal, around 5kg of bauxite is mined (usually in the tropics), transported and processed into powder. The powder is then dissolved at around 1,000ºC - and electrolysed in a hugely power-hungry smelter before being transported to factories to be turned into products.

Creating new aluminium from existing aluminium is a much simpler process, using around 95% less energy.

On an individual level, recycling is unlikely to reduce your carbon footprint by as much as, say, cutting back on flights or driving. But it will make a valuable contribution nonetheless.

Landfill and resources

Another benefit of recycling is that it helps reduce the amount of rubbish being buried in landfill or burned in incinerators. Food scraps and other organic waste, which is taken to landfill, produces the powerful greenhouse gas, methane. These emissions are reduced if paper is recycled or food waste composted - either in the garden or via a recycling scheme.

Burying glass, plastics and metals in landfill sites doesn't lead to significant greenhouse emissions but we are throwing away resources that are finite and non-renewable. Many people feel that we should be preserving these resources for future generations. In addition, landfill sites can cause other problems such as ground-water pollution.

Doorstep collection

Many local councils offer from-the-door recycling collection and this service should be available to everyone in the UK by 2010. Most doorstep schemes accept paper, cardboard, glass, and aluminium and steel cans. Some also accept plastic bottles though not, in most cases, plastic films, wrappers and trays.

Technically, it's the type of plastic that matters rather than what it's used for. Most plastic packaging includes a triangular symbol containing a number from one to seven. Bottles are most commonly made from types one or two - polyethylene terephthalate or high-density polyethylene.

When recycling at home, always remove lids and give items a rinse in the sink before putting them in the box. To save energy, use cold rather than hot water for this.

Council recycling centres

In addition to paper, metal and plastic products, many councils offer facilities for recycling textiles, motor oil, household and car batteries, and various other products. Some councils collect such items from the doorstep, though more commonly you'll have to go to a municipal recycling point. To find your nearest one, visit Recycle Now.

These guides have been reproduced from BBC Green, part of BBC Worldwide.