13.4.- RECYCLING

There are many recyclable materials: paper and cardboard, glass, fabrics and some plastics, among others.

Recycling not only favors the sustainable use of resources, it also reduces production costs. Industries spend much less on making paper from waste than they spend using raw materials. The same happens with glass or metal. The recycling process of plastic is expensive. Besides, sophisticated plants must be implemented for its production. For this reason, some companies are reluctant to recycle it. There are more materials with this problem, so one of the solutions is to use them in another way, such as to produce energy.

The recycling chain consists of several stages:

• Recovery: waste collection.
• Transfer stations: waste is accumulated and transported in larger quantities at lower cost.
• Sorting stations: waste is classified and those that can be used are separated from those that cannot.
• Final recycler: waste is stored or used for the production of energy.

Recycling is a key component in the reduction of contemporary waste and it is the third component of the 3 R’s ("Reduce, Reuse and Recycle"). The 3 R’s is a practice to achieve a more sustainable society.

The importance of recycling is given by the problems created by the modern way of life. Large amounts of resources can be saved with materials recycled in production processes. Thanks to recycling, the disuse of potentially useful materials is prevented and the consumption of new raw materials and energy, as well as air and water pollution, is reduced.