Recycling
For the latest news regarding recycling in Ibiza, see our update here.
What is rubbish?
The word 'Rubbish' or 'Garbage' is described in the English Oxford dictionary as 'Worthless materials or articles'. In nature, there is no such thing as rubbish, since material which is discarded by one organism is automatically used up by another one, as a part of the continuous cycle of life.
However, the majority of humans living in our modern society use up vast quantities of raw materials and natural resources in their complicated lifestyles but instead of passing these on for other organisms to use, we tend to bury them in large holes or find other ways to put them out of our sight, often causing unnecessary pollution to the surrounding area or local ground water supplies. We create so many waste products that there seem to be no other organisms around that are willing or able to use them up as fast as we are creating them. This habit of burying our unwanted materials and objects in large holes or landfill sites has been going on for hundreds of years but finding new places to dispose of our household and industrial waste is becoming more difficult, as we increase our numbers and also increase our rate of consumption. During the last few decades all over our world, this situation is reaching a critical level, as mountains of so called 'rubbish' are causing such a pollution problem, we are being forced to find a solution before we literally disappear underneath a sea of man-made garbage.
There are of course many different ways we can deal with the problem of creating too much waste but the simplest solution is to reduce our consumption of manufactured goods and packaging materials, especially those made from toxic materials that are far more difficult to deal with once we have no further use for them. We must also invent new ways to re-use our waste products and unwanted articles, so that we get the best benefit from their original manufacturing process. If we cannot re-use our waste materials, then we are obliged to recycle them. 'Recycling' is converting waste into re-useable material and therefore giving it a new life instead of throwing it away. If we think about it, nearly everything we use can be recycled in one way or another and it's something which we will have to do more of, if we want to continue living in a modern and convenient world.
To make things easy for the public to help in recycling their everyday waste products and unwanted articles, most local authorities in developed countries are installing coloured 'recycling containers' in the streets and around the countryside. In some areas, local authorities even give every household a separate container for each specific type of material which can be recycled. These containers are usually emptied by the company who is responsible for recycling in that area and the waste products are then taken to a special sorting plant before being sent off to be processed into new products.
Some of the most common things we can recycle are:
Glass – About 8% of our household rubbish is made up of glass bottles and jars. By separating and recycling them we can save an enormous amount of energy and raw materials, as well as reducing the amount of rubbish we throw into the land fill sites.
Paper – This represents up to 40% of our household rubbish and is relatively easy to recycle. These days, most paper comes from trees which are specially grown to supply paper pulp, but recycled paper is still a very important part of the process, reducing the amount of virgin pulp which is needed and reducing energy consumption.
Plastic – Plastics make up about 17% of our household rubbish and they are very durable. Therefore they can be used over and over again. Of the 4.5 million tonnes used in Europe only 280,000 tonnes are recycled leaving over 4 million tonnes to fill up the land fills. That would be similar to about 1 million cars piled together.
Metals – Metals make up about 7% of our household rubbish. Tin cans and such household metal products can be recycled very easily. The aluminium cans for instance do not lose any of their quality even though they are used over and again. The energy saved from two cans is equivalent to the energy in one cup of gasoline.
Batteries – Batteries are a very hazardous element to our planet. When buried or just thrown away the can release chemicals such as lead, acids and mercury into the ground and contaminate ground water, so we should make every effort to recycle them as often as we can. Nowadays, there are many government programs and private organizations that have taken on the task of recycling batteries.
Electronics – Everything from computers and mobile telephones to anything else that has electronic components in it can be recycled. When your computer is out-dated there are many pieces of the computer that can still be used such as the cooling fans etc, in fact there are many parts that can be refurbished and used again. If the parts cannot be used again, the plastic and metal pieces within your electronic and electrical devices can be recycled in specially designed centres. Electronic components are full of dangerous contaminating materials such as lead, mercury and highly toxic substances which can poison our local environment. Every year in Europe alone, we discard about 270,000 tons of electronics, that's equivalent to 35,000 adult African elephants
Motor Cars – There is so much value to an automobile. The average car is made from about 65% steel and iron, all of which can be recycled. The rest of the car, most of which is made out of aluminium, copper and lead can also be recycled which in turn gives great ecological value to the vehicle. Cars are too valuable to just throw away and in many places you can even get scrap money for an old banger.
Compost - Compost can be described as materials that are biodegradable in a short period of time, such as certain vegetables, fruits and other food which normally account for about 11% percent of our household rubbish. If you live in an area where you can have a garden (even potted plants or a window box in your urban apartment), then you might be interested in composting these products to use as fertilizer. There are also many government schemes for collecting and composting household organic waste, especially in cities where it is used to fertilize flower gardens and parks.
