Reduce Reuse Recover Recycle

1. Reduce Reuse Recover Recycle

2. How can we reduce materials and energy? REDUCE • Reduce energy used through more efficient processes. • Reduce number of materials used in manufacturing. • Select materials that have less impact on the environment. • Reduce amount of packaging used to protect products. • Make efficient use of materials. • Reuse small offcuts for other products/processes. • Transport finished products directly to the end user rather than wholesalers. • Example: • Instead of expanded polystyrene, use recycled paper pulp for packaging. • Use energy-efficient light bulbs. • Incinerate/burn offcuts to produce heat for the workplace.

3. Reusing materials and products REUSE • Using a product more than once, e.g. refilling a bottle. • Using a product in a different way from its original use. • Reuse means that no energy is used to remanufacture products. • Items can be cleaned and reused to extend their useful life. Examples: • Refilling milk bottles/ink cartridges, etc. • Using fizzy drink bottles for water. • Selling items on auction sites/charity shops.

4. Recovering energy from waste RECOVER • Waste can be incinerated to generate heat to turn turbines to produce electricity. • Waste can be converted to gas using high temperatures and oxygen. • The synthetic gas produced can then be used, which is more efficient than simply incinerating the waste products. Example: Teesside EfW plant, Middlesbrough, burns 390,000 tonnes of waste per year to produce electricity for the National Grid.

5. Recycling RECYCLE Recycling is the process of making or manufacturing new products from a product that has originally served its purpose. If these used products are disposed of in an appropriate, environmentally friendly way, the process of recycling has been set in motion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH_HKeS1Ed4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyF9MxlcItw