Recycling provides our world with making new things with the materials we already have. Not many people recycle, but you can fix that by working together. Working together could provide an extra perspective on what we should do and how we should do it. Recycling is a major thing that we, as a human race, need to get better at.
When living in the triad area you still need to recycle. We know just the place to go and recycle too. The first place we will talk about is called, Repreve, also known as Unifi. Repreve turns recycled water bottles into polyester. Repreve gets recycled materials from one school but buys the rest from recycling companies. Another place to recycle is Republic Services. Republic Services collects recycled materials from all the homes, companies, and schools in Guilford County. There are so many more places to recycle like Winston Salem Waste Management, Recycling center services in Kernersville, and so many more.
How do companies in the recycling business make money? They have to do it somehow. Repreve sells the polyester that they make to companies like NIKE, Levis jeans, Under armor, Ford, and Sharpie. Repreve also makes money by selling the materials they don’t use like paper and some plastics. Many other companies sell all the bailed materials to other companies that use recycled materials.
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What is the average amount of recyclables/non-recyclables that companies receive? At Repreve, they receive an average amount of non-recyclable materials is 8% of the average amount of 14,000,000 recycled materials received. At Republic Services, they receive about 200 ton of recyclables a day. About 30% of that 200 ton is thrown away. This 30% includes items that have residue on them and nonperishable items. Many recycling companies receive more items depending on the time of year, this is called the “holiday ton”. They receive 30% more item than usual.
How can you help to make this a better habit? You should start off by picking the right location to put your recycling bin and trash can. By putting these bins in the right area it can attract more people to put the items in the right bin. You should always have two bins close to each other. This helps make sure that the wrong items don’t go in the recycling bin, so make sure you have a trash can and a recycling bin. When there is just one bin, it seems to collect trash as well as recycling. Keep the area clean around the bins, a clean space makes people think it a good place to put things and is attractive to the eye. You can also use different shapes and colors on the bins, this also attracts people because these things are exciting for your eyes.
Have you ever wondered what the process of recycling is? All you ever see is the recycling trucks drive by your house or apartment. The first step to recycling starts with you. You put the materials in the right bin. The recycling trucks then come and pick that up from your house, school, or business. The trucks then take the materials to the warehouse. The materials then get put into a machine which sorts them four times. The machine shoots the sorted materials into another machine, which puts the materials into bails. The bails then get sold to companies like Repreve.
How does recycling help and what is recycling? Acts of Green can help our community and the others around us. “ Many items help us save the world’s supply. In some cases, it’s cheaper to recycle the materials than to use new ones.”-Mark Berry. “We should recycle because it helps the earth. It’s just as simple as that.”- Dave W. Recycling is a process of recycling and reusing.
How do companies make money? Many companies make money by selling the bales of recycled materials. They will sell the bales to companies like Repreve and many many others. Repreve is different though. Repreve sells the recycled polyester to other companies such as NIKE and Under Armour. Repreve also sells the materials they don’t use to companies that can use them. Selling the items gives the employees money. But not all the money comes from the selling of bales. Some come from sponsors and even sometimes the government. They can also get income from the citizens.
So remember when recycling, make sure your items are clean and don’t have any residue on or in them, and just remember to put the recyclable items in the correct box. Recycling can now be a habit everyone can have. Now YOU can help make that happen, too. Remember to recycle!
Citations
- Berry, Mark. Interview. Conducted by Hannah Simcic, 2019, Dave W. Interview. Conducted by Hannah Simcic, 2018.
