Why recycle ?
The amount of waste collected from houses, flats and businesses in Liverpool is increasing every year. This has both environmental and financial implications for Liverpool and its citizens. Disposing of waste has a number of negative impacts on the environment as well as the cost of providing the collection and disposal service. There is a lot more we can do to develop Liverpool's recycling facilities, but that does not deal with the ever-growing mountain of waste that cannot be recycled.
Once you have disposed of your waste via your household bin, the bin man collects your waste and takes it to a waste transfer station.It is here were it is compacted and moved to a landfill site.
A landfill site is where our waste is compacted and covered to prevent the escape of polluting liquid or gases. However this has been done for many years and landfill space is running out.
More than half our household waste can be re-used in some way, by throwing it away we are losing the natural resources, the energy and time which have been used to make the product.
Instead of throwing our rubbish away, we should be using the 3 'R' s:
REDUCING, RE-USING and RECYCLING.
Reduce - the amount of waste you throw away. This is the best way to deal with your rubbish.
- try to buy products that do not have a lot of packaging
- try to buy and use refillable containers e.g. returnable milk bottles, refills of fabric softeners
- use your own shopping bags when visiting the shop
Re-use - items whenever possible
- re-use carrier bags
- re-use old bits of paper for a notepad by your telephone
- buy rechargeable items instead of disposable ones e.g. cameras and batteries
- have a spring clean and take your unused clothes, book, furniture etc to a charity shop
Recycle
- compost your kitchen scraps and garden waste for use in your garden
- buy products that have been made from recycled material
- use the council's kerbside or bring bank scheme