When the majority of us throw something away, we don’t even think about it. In fact, we don’t even give it a second thought. It comes naturally; that quick toss of a crisp packet into a nearby bin, the plastic packaging on a piece of furniture you’ve had delivered or worse still, the unused metal at a local construction site. We consume, dispose and move on.
Rubbish is an unpleasant but necessary part of our daily lives but it’s fast becoming a problem and we’ll tell you how.
Almost all of our rubbish ends up in landfills and when you consider the population across the globe, disposing of items on a daily basis; that’s a lot of rubbish. Despite the heavy load on our planet however, we as a specie still have a very dismissive attitude towards trash. This wouldn’t be too much of an issue if landfills helped to magically erase said rubbish from our planet.
Unfortunately they do no thing of the sort. In fact, landfills are actually pretty frightening and here’s why:
- When it comes to our landfills, we’re running out of space. We’re creating more waste than we ever have and our landfills are bursting at the seams.
- With so much rubbish coming together, landfills are beginning to emit very dangerous gases. One pile of everything imaginable becomes extremely toxic, producing huge amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. There are also a great number of unnatural elements to consider too such as paint thinners and pesticides. Studies have even shown that women living near solid waste landfills are four times as likely to suffer bladder cancer or leukaemia.
- Due to the ever-increasing amount of carbon dioxide produced, landfills are now a big contributor to climate change.
- The burden placed on landfills is actually unnecessary considering much of what goes into a landfill could easily be disposed in a more environmentally friendly manner.
Recycling Is At The Forefront
Recycling has become one of the most important issues of today. This is especially so within the construction sector. Responsible waste management, scrap metal recycling and even materials recovery can offer a number of benefits and is doing so over and over again.
Recycling construction waste and scrap materials isn’t just a pleasant bonus anymore; it’s expected. Clients of any size are more likely to choose a company that goes that extra step to help reduce the burden on our already overloaded landfills. By using recycled materials as much as possible while implementing a proper waste management plan, you can not only boost your company image but save yourself a lot of money in the long run.
So much so that companies all over the world are now following the trend. Construction projects all over the world are taking note, with each individual project offering its own scope for recovery and recycling.
- Demolition Projects – people are removing the materials that are most accessible first. Once the building has been demolished, many are then looking for scrap material that can be collected from the rubble. This can then be recycled after contaminants and non-recyclables have been removed.
- Deconstruction Projects – deconstruction as opposed to demolishing has allowed people to find more recyclable material. Many companies are finding that a great amount of materials don’t actually need to be recycled and instead can be reused.
- Renovation Projects – once again, people are finding a great amount of material, partially dismantled from renovation projects, can actually be used again. Any scrap materials such as metal can then obviously be sent for recycling or ‘scrapping’ and can once again be used in other construction projects.
- New Construction Projects – while recyclables and scrap won’t necessarily be found (initially) at a new construction, it’s often a place that people are beginning to actively search surrounding areas, surrounding scrap yards etc for more cost-effective materials. This is where recycled material makes a big statement.
From metals to wood, concrete and even asphalt paving, a great number of materials can and now are being recovered and reused in a multitude of different ways. This form of recycling can have huge knock on effects across the board from financial to our environment. So much so in fact that the question is, why wouldn’t you?
Of course, the number one reason for recycling is to help our environment. Less waste being disposed of means less pressure on our overflowing landfills as well as a reduced carbon footprint for the company involved. Many fail to consider the impact of virgin resources. The production of fresh materials takes a rather heavy toll on our natural resources, therefore using scrap metal and scrapping metal when and where you can helps lessen this burden.
Fewer production processes will also mean fewer emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, fewer pollutants released into the ground and water systems as well as less disturbance to our local ecosystem.
Skip Hire Helping You Recycle
With recycling taking such a huge step forward and making an even bigger presence than ever before, it’s only right that there be ways to do so with ease. After all, making recycling easy will only mean more people take action and do so themselves. It’s for this reason that skip hire companies such as Mackers Skip Hire in Basildon Essex offer waste management services to help you recycle and scrap as much as possible.
With a range of skips available as well as the opportunity to create almost tailored waste management plans, you can meet the latest safety, environmental and ethical standards with ease as well as help boost your own companies profits by making use of recyclable and reusable materials as and where you can. When recycling initiatives and skip hire companies such as Mackers work together, the changes can and often are beyond what many imagine.