Recycling

1. Recycling

2. Packing To enable you to recognize clearly and immediately the type of material from which the object is made of, recyclable numerical codes have been written so that the international manufacturer is obliged to add inside the recycling symbol as well as an alphanumeric code to be placed under this emblem. Although the materials on which it appears are all theoretically recyclable, for some of them the processes of recovery and transformation are somewhat difficult and therefore economically disadvantageous therefore some consortiums of municipal waste do not throw in the right container these types of materials. In addition there is also a legislative problem. The European and Italian regulations provided the recycling obligation only for products that are in the plastic packaging. Within the price of packaging placed on the market is expected, in fact, a contribution that manufacturers must pay to the consortium in charge of the management of the recovery and recycling ( CONAI for Italy ). As on May 1 2012, you can give in trash: plates and disposable plastic cups, so far allocated to the undifferentiated rubbish. Instead are excluded from the collection of packaging plastic cutlery and durable plates and glasses which are not use-and-throw, although made of plastic . The decision was officially announced by the Coordinating Committee - CONAI ANCI ( National Association of Italian - National Packaging Consortium ). There are various types of packaging: the primary one, the first envelope, the secondary one, a multi-pack, the tertiary the packing for transport. There is also food packaging and one for plastic, but also for wood, aluminum, steel, and other products.

3. Packing of steel: 1 - the steel arrives at the factories where they produce: caps, lids, buckets, barrels and cans. 2 - these packages are then filled by the user companies with their products ready to be sold. 3 - once their content is used, steel packagings are transformed into waste that must be collected. 4 - thanks to you, and your recycling action, and to the municipality that collects them the steel packagings have a new life. 5 - workers at the National Steel Consortium work to recycle steel. 6 - old packagings are melted in furnaces to produce new steel. 7 - the steel mill produces the raw material: re-usable steel.

4. Vehicles Vehicle recycleing is the dismantling of veichicles for spare parts. At the end of their “useful” life, vehicles have value as a source of spare parts and this has created a vehicle dismantiling industry. The process of recycling a vehicle is extremely complicated as there are many parts to be recycled and many hazardous materials to remove. Briefly, the process begins with incoming vehicles being inventoried for parts. Then, recyclers start the engine in order to inspect for leaks. After inventory, fluids are drained and removed. After the fluids are removed, the final remaining hazardous materials such as battery, mercury and sodium azide (the propellant used in air bag) are removed. After all the parts and products inside are removed, the remaining shell of the vehicles is crushed and recycled. Recycling steel saves energy and natural resources. Approximately 12-15 million vechicles reach the end of their use each year.

5. Energy All the energy you can save up: -Aluminium: Here some exaples of recovery: with 800 cans one can produce a bicycle; with 37 cans one can produce a coffee pot; with 70 cans one can produce a frying pan. -Paper: To produce 1 ton of paper using raw material one needs 15 trees, 440.000l of water and 7.600 kw/h of electric energy. By using recycled paper instead one needs 0 trees, 1.800 of water and 2.700 kw/h of electric energy. -Plastic: Recycled plastic can be used in textile industry, in the construction industry, in the packaging industry. -Organic waste: In the dumping, the organic waste produces polluting liquids and gas, whereas if they are recycled they can become fertile soil for flowerculture and agriculture, and they can still contribute to methane production. -Glass: Collecting and recycling the glass reduces necessary raw materials consumption. Indeed, from 100 kg of glass scrap one can obtain 100 kg of the new product; whereas one needs 120 kg of virgin raw materials to obtain 100 kg of the new product.

6. Batteries and accumulators My country provides special containers for the collection of batteries, which are periodically emptied by the Ama, the ecological consortium in Rome. Italy is one of the first European countries that recycles batteries and is also one the European countries where disposal is cheap. If the citizens do not throw batteries in the appropiate containers, they will be punished with a fine.

7. RECYCLING ACTION IN MY FAMILY 1- what I recycle in my own household: We recycle paper and cardboard that go into a white bin, we also recycle plastic, glass and alluminium that go into a blu dumster; all the other things have to be put in the black bin. 2- What can the recycled products be used for and what positive impacts could they have on the environment? With the recycling we make new products from the old things and this is very important to improve saving energy and reduce the global pollution. 3- Are there other products that you throw away at home that could be reused/recycled? Every family tries to recycle everything possible. First of all: the food which remains from a meal is always recycled in something else usually compost (especially if you live in the countryside!); then plastic bottles can be used to water the plants or to wash the car and the old newspapers can be used to clean the windows. 4- To what extent does your household and your region follow the directives of the EU? In Italy not all the families follow the directives of the EU because they aren’t equipped to make the right recycling action but everybody should know its positive effects.

8. 5- Do you recycle/reuse more products than is required by the EU? Personally I recycle more than the EU tells us to do because my family likes to recycle, but in Italy there are people that don’t recycle at all or if they do it they recycle in the wrong way. 6- What responsibilities does the producer and the consumer have as far as recycling is concerned? The consumers have the responsibility to divide the products that have to be recycled into paper, plastic , organic products and glass. The producer has the responsibility to garantee a good recycle creating products of only one material to facilitate the recycling of the things. 7- Suggest what can be done in order to increase recycling. In my opinion I think that in order to increase recycling the government has to make new laws so that people start recycling more and I also think that Italy needs more recycling centres so that people have more space to bring all the recycled materials.