As our nation strives to become more environmentally conscious, with waste recycling gaining increasing importance, and while most people are aware of the basics – thanks to household recycling bins emptied by local councils – there are still lesser-known items that can be recycled.
Of course, when you engage the services of CMS Clearaway to clear rubbish or manage commercial waste disposal, we take care of the recycling and environmentally friendly elements for you, but we thought it interesting in this article to highlight five surprising things that can be recycled, contributing to waste reduction and a greener future:
Nappies
While it may be expected that reusable cloth nappies can be recycled, disposable nappies present a different challenge.
However, a UK-based company called Knowaste has developed a method to recycle disposable nappies: through sanitisation and separation, the plastics from nappies are recycled into roof shingles, and the paper pulp is transformed into wallpaper.
With an average of 5,000 nappies used per child in their first two years, this recycling process has the potential to significantly reduce landfill waste!
Chewing Gum
Chewing gum litter costs UK councils a staggering £150 million each year to clean up.
A London based company called GumDrop processes discarded gum and creates compounds that can be used in the rubber and plastics industries.
This innovation allows chewing gum to be repurposed for manufacturing items ranging from wellington boots to mobile phone covers.
Used Bras
Charity shops may not accept used bras, but they are recyclable.
Smalls for All, a Scottish charity, collects bras to provide support to women in the poorest regions of Africa.
Gently worn bras are distributed, while damaged or older bras are disassembled and recycled to raise funds for purchasing more bras.
Compact Discs
If you have unwanted, undamaged compact discs, you can donate them to charity, give them to a friend, or even sell them with a number of online companies buying them in return for cash.
However, what about damaged discs? While they cannot be placed in regular plastic recycling bins, several companies now accept them for recycling.
You would need to mail the CDs to these companies, which will shred and melt them down for repurposing in industries such as automotive or building materials.
Mattresses
Each year, around 20 million mattresses end up in landfills!
However, private companies have begun to tackle this issue by recycling mattresses. The process involves breaking down mattresses into their various materials and sending them
to specialized plants for each type of material. Through this recycling process, mattresses can be given a new lease of life, reducing the
volume of waste in landfills.
Recycling goes beyond the conventional household items, and there are surprising opportunities to reduce waste and promote sustainability.
By recycling as much as we can it will make a significant impact on waste reduction and environmental preservation and when it comes to waste management, rest assured that CMS Clearaway have it covered with 94% of the waste we collect from businesses and households throughout Birmingham and the West Midlands, being recycled.
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