Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the properties it had in its original state.Recycling continues to contribute to the sustainable management of plastic solid wastes (PSWs) and it's among the important approaches currently used for reducing the impacts of PSWs in the plastic industry. It provides opportunities for reducing quantities of waste disposed of, oil usage and carbon dioxide emissions. Further, opportunities in the form of job creation, global warming reduction, reduction of virgin material consumption, reduction in landfill contamination etc. It also presents demerits such as being costly, contamination, littering, pollution etc. The chapter outlines the concept of recycling with particular attention to plastics. It discusses the two strategies of recycling: open-loop recycling and closed-loop recycling. These strategies are compared and the difference is that open-loop recycling provides an opportunity for new product development while closed-loop is confined to the original products. Different recycling processes such as primary recycling, secondary (mechanical) recycling, tertiary recycling and energy recovery are discussed by focussing on the processes, merits and demerits. Recycling is contributing to the sustainable management of wastes and, because of advances in technologies and systems for segregating, collecting and reprocessing of recyclable wastes, it is rapidly expanding. It is creating new opportunities for integration with industries, communities and the governments.
Although the level of recycling activities fluctuates over time, the underlying driving forces point to the overall increase of these activities. Recycling is both an economic as well as environmental activity. As an economic activity, recycling represents recovery of residual value from waste products. As an environmental activity, recycling is neither inherently positive nor negative. Life cycle assessment methodology can be applied to the recycling process just like to any other process to assess the overall impact. The environmental impact can be assessed in terms of local, regional and global impacts. Ecoprofile is a form of life cycle assessment but with the application of weighing factors which allow for comparison and rating of impacts.
A Brief Introduction to Recycling During the 1960s and '70s it was thought that emissions from factory chimneys and sewage pipes constituted the biggest environmental problem. But since then, due to new, worldwide "Eco-laws", these discharges have decreased considerably. Instead, the focus has switched to the environmental problems associated with the goods that are produced and consumed in modern society. Many of the most environmentally damaging substances are currently being supplied through glass bottles, newspapers, plastic bags, coke cans, cardboard boxes and sweet wrappers just to mention a few. To tell you what recycling is and what the word actually embodies may seem strange to you. I am sure all of you think you know exactly what it entails. But in theory Computer recycling involves the separation and collection of materials for processing and remanufacturing old products into new products, and the use of these new products, completing the cycle. Glass is one of the most common man-made materials. It is made from sand, limestone and sodium carbonate and silica. The ingredients are heated to a high temperature in a furnace until they melt together.