We still throw away a lot when ¾ of the waste in our bin could be recycled! Our waste has value: recycling – plastic, paper, metals, etc. – makes it possible to recover materials used to manufacture other objects.
Some waste deposited in collection bins or at associations can also be used by others after a little facelift.
And did you know that incinerated waste can heat the inhabitants of a city?
Mission 1: avoid throwing too much
We sometimes get rid of objects that still work. It’s a shame to weigh the bins when many objects could be used a little longer. T-shirts, smartphones, and game consoles, it is not because they are damaged or that you no longer use them that you have to get rid of them! There are other solutions!
Thinking about reuse and repair
If the object is damaged and less than two years old, it is still under warranty, and its repair can be covered by the manufacturer.
Give, exchange, sell, borrow… rather than throw away
Many platforms highlight all the solutions that make it possible to extend the useful life of objects. Our objects have not one but many futures: they can be borrowed, rented, bought second-hand rather than systematically bought new, given away, resold, exchanged rather than thrown away.
And beyond curbing the impact of our consumption on the environment, all these actions are very often a source of savings.
Mission 2: sort well to recycle better
Thanks to recycling, our waste becomes new raw materials.
We often think that recycling is a new idea, but centuries ago, men and women were already recycling their waste. Some, like the ragpickers, even made it their job.
Nowadays, we know how to recycle more and more materials which are reintroduced to manufacture new objects.
This avoids extracting raw materials from the ground and limits the amount of waste incinerated or landfilled.
Properly sorting your waste is, therefore, an ecological gesture.
Even if the solutions to collect waste are available, we still do not sort enough of what we throw away.
Paper and cardboard
Everyone has access to bins, individual or collective.
All sorted paper is recycled. The fibers that make up the paper are recovered to make a new raw material. This fibrous material can become paper or hygiene products, cardboard packaging, or insulation materials.
Today recycling supplies 67% of the paper industry.
Metals
Metals are infinitely recyclable.
Our aluminum soda cans are recovered, melted, purified, and used again to make a bicycle, a scooter, chairs…
We can also recycle the steel, which will be reused to make car parts, tools, or tin cans.
When recycling computers and mobile phones, one can also recover small fragments of precious metals such as gold and silver.
For this recycling to be possible, you must always bring your electrical and electronic waste to recycling centers or stores and not throw them in the trash!
Glass
Glass is infinitely recyclable.
But today, recycling supplies only 58% of the glass industry. We can do better! Having the reflex to correctly sort your trash cans and bring your glass to the collection points is a good start.
Plastics
There are 5 leading families of recyclable plastic which are not all recycled in the same way: polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polypropylene (PP). ).
After recycling, the caps can, for example, be used to manufacture garbage bins or toothpaste tubes. Water bottles can revert to bottles, quilts, or fleece sweaters. Milk bottles can become watering cans or benches.
Mission 3: for organic waste, promote the cycle of nature
There are two 100% natural techniques for transforming your garden and kitchen waste: composting to enrich the soil and mulching to protect and nourish the soil.
Composting
Yes, some waste has been recycled easily and for a long time thanks to a natural process: composting.
In the presence of oxygen and water, organic matter is transformed by micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi, etc.) and larger organisms (worms, mites, small insects, etc.).
At the end of the process, we obtain what is called mature compost. An ideal product for your vegetable garden, your flowers, your potted plants, the green spaces of your residence, shared gardens…
You can compost your waste in your garden but also on your balcony. Some buildings are even organizing to offer a composter at the bottom of the building for residents who want it.
What waste to compost?
Kitchen waste: peelings, coffee grounds, paper filters, bread, dairy products, cheese crusts, vegetable tops, damaged fruits, and vegetables, etc.
Garden waste, if not used for mulching: grass clippings, leaves, hedge trimmings, faded flowers, etc.
Specific household waste: paper handkerchiefs, paper towels, wood ashes, sawdust, shavings, newspaper, soiled cardboard (but not soiled by polluting products), indoor plants, etc.
Mulching, the garden’s ally
The mulching technique is effortless: just spread a layer of mulch on your garden’s soil, and nature will do the rest!
You can use dead leaves, twigs, and branches, cut into small pieces, or crushed. But also garden waste, vegetable kitchen waste…