Global Recycling Day

In honor of Global Recycling Day, we want to encourage everyone to rethink how much they waste, and in turn how many resources they could help save through recycling. What is recycling, why should we recycle, and how can we help, are all questions we will answer in today’s blog post.

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Recycling is the action of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products. This practice, referred to as the “seventh resource,” helps:

• Protect natural resources, including the Earth’s 6 precious primary resources — water, air, oil, natural gas, coal, and minerals: recycling supplies 40% of the world’s raw material needs.
• Combat climate change: annually, recyclables save over 700 million tons in CO2 emissions (as much as is generated by the aviation industry).
•  Boost local employment: approximately 1.6 million people are employed in processing recyclables, worldwide.

There are three well-known types of recycling:

• Primary recycling, or closed loop recycling, which turns one thing into more of the same thing (example: paper)
• Secondary recycling, which turns one thing into other things made of the same material (example: rubber tires into playground cover material)
• Tertiary recycling, which requires chemicals to break down materials to produce something very different (example: plastic bottles into shoes)

Some tips and tricks to participate in this efficient practice:

• Read your local guidelines on what is accepted in your recycling containers. Different municipalities are able to accept different items because of who they partner with to recycle them.
• Reuse your containers/bottles! Anything made of non-BPA plastic can be reused at least once, while glass items can be reused infinitely. Once you are ready to recycle them, make sure to rinse them well and let them dry.
• If curbside pickup for your recyclables isn’t available at your residence, simply collect them and drop them off at a recycling site near you.

 Do you have any other tips or tricks to share? We would love to hear them!

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To celebrate this special day, our WestCMR Philanthropy Committee distributed gifts to all employees. Each team member received a mini recycling bin, a stainless steel straw, an edible spoon, and a reusable tote bag made out of recycled water bottles.