Every year, millions of tons of various materials such as textiles, paper, plastic, glass, and metal are thrown away around the world. It is very important that all these materials are turned into secondary resources,
Ecoltava writes about this in its article.
As you know, every year approximately 92 million tons of textile waste end up in landfills because they cannot be reused, repaired or recycled. The situation is similar with paper: 42% of the world's cut down trees are used to produce new paper, which leads to deforestation. Therefore, it is very important that all unnecessary books and other paper products become recycled. So, what interesting things can be made from garbage?
Bio waste
- Coffee grounds is a versatile and free resource that can be used as an ice cream or as a skin scrub. It can also be used to make various products, for example, glasses and pots.
- Straw is waste from the stalks of grain plants. Recently, straw roofs are becoming popular again due to their environmental friendliness and ability to provide good thermal insulation.
- Egg shell – you can make chalk from it. To do this, it is first washed and ground into a powder, then starch solution and dye are added, and the resulting mass is poured into molds and dried. In this way, chalk is obtained for drawing on a blackboard or asphalt.
- Rice husks and newspapers – are processed into building materials. The construction sector ranks second in terms of plastic consumption and third in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
Wastepaper
It is noted that approximately 42% of the trees cut down in the world are used to produce new paper. Therefore, it is important that all unnecessary books and other paper products are recycled.
The most popular products made from recycled paper are cardboard containers, bags, egg cartons, kraft paper, and napkins. Recycled paper is often used to print new books. Recycled paper is often used as a full-fledged alternative to plastic.
Clothing waste
92 million tonnes of textile waste is thrown away worldwide each year, and clothing that cannot be donated, repaired or recycled usually ends up in landfill.
French startup fab.brick has reportedly developed a way to process textile waste, along with locks and buttons, into briquettes that can be used to make furniture or for interior decoration.
To preserve the shape of the briquettes, ecological vegetable glue is added to the shredded fabric.
Plastic
The largest number of useful things are made from recycled plastic, in addition to new plastic containers.
One of the most advanced options is the production of fibers for the garment industry. Plastic bottles are turned into thread, from which they create a wide range of different fabrics for outerwear, shoes and bags. For example, Nomadic State Of Mind sandals are made from recycled plastic cans and worn by Hollywood stars.
Glass
In addition to making new containers, recycled glass can be used for many other purposes, such as water filters, glass wool and glass ceramics.
However, there are also more interesting applications, such as making glasses, vases, etc. The Ukrainian brand "Rere:sklo" creates coasters using the fusing technique, that is, sintering under a hot press.
Metal
Aluminum bottles are mainly recycled into new cans, and the rest are melted down and used for various purposes, such as cladding for planes, cars, ships, facade panels of buildings and others.
Also, for example, bicycle chains and sprockets, which are usually replaced every certain kilometers, can be used to make interesting jewelry and key chains.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, in the city of Khodoryv in the Lviv region a waste sorting station is operating, which receives separately collected resource-valuable plastic waste from three of the five Lviv transport companies, as well as from other suppliers from the region.
