Why Recycling?

Introduction for Educators

Raw Materials and Circular Economy

Exploration & Mining - Learning Pathway

Recycling - Learning Pathway

Substitution - Learning Pathway

Circular Economy - Learning Pathway

All our Toolkits

Other Resources for Teachers

Why Recycling?

There are several reasons driving the recycling industry:

Economic
Waste containing precious metal is valuable because the concentration of the metals of interest in the end-of-life devices is often much higher compared to primary ores. Often recovery from waste is much more cost effective than mining for primary minerals. This fact has seen the development of a movement called Urban Mining.

Ecological and socio-political

  • Removal of plastics from the environment
  • Control of hazardous waste release into the environment
  • Mining operations compete with agriculture over freshwater and land use
  • Environment’s natural state is important for the indigenous population in areas where tourism is an important source of income

Each ton of recycled aluminium saves 14-megawatt hours of electricity.

Recycling benefits natural-resource conservation in several ways: it reduces the need to mine new materials and helps to save metal ores for future generations. It may also reduce energy use. For example: recycling copper and aluminium requires 10 percent or less energy than is needed for refining raw ore. Electrical and electronic waste can contain  up to 50 times higher concentration of valuable metals and minerals than ores extracted from mines.