Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – More Info
Rubbish - the nuts and bolts...
Percentage of rubbish in an average household bin that can be recycled = 60%
In less than 2 hours the UK produces enough waste to fill the Albert Hall
The energy saved by recycling 1 aluminium drinks can is enough to run a television for three hours
The UK uses 12.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard each year
The National average for recycling is 14.5%
Cornwall Specific Facts - work with us on this one!
- Every year Cornish residents and visitors produce over 300 million steel cans - and steel cans are 100% recyclable!
Every year Cornish residents and visitors produce 71 million glass jars and bottles.
- In one year Cornwall throws away over 117 million recyclable plastic bottles.
- Cornwall sends over 7,000 tonnes of steel to its landfill sites each year, all of this can be recycled.
- Current recycling rate in Cornwall = 23%
- Percentage of waste currently going to landfill in Cornwall = 77%
Thanks to www.recycleforcornwall.org.uk
People in Britain use an average of 300 plastic bags every year. Each bag lasts up to 400 years, spending the vast majority of that time in a landfill site or strewn across the British countryside. People are becoming increasingly aware that we need to reduce our use of plastic bags.
In Ireland, a tax of 15cents per bag resulted in a 90% drop in plastic bag usage, and raised 3.5 million Euros which was spent on environmental projects. Bangladesh has banned polythene bags altogether while Taiwan and Singapore are taking steps to discourage their use.
You can help on holiday by never knowingly accepting a plastic bag; using your own; and buying local - which tends to be much less packaged than processed, food-miles heavy food! (and the chances are you get MUCH better quality, fantastic local produce) AND you're supporting local farmers and food producers. What's not to love?!
