The theme for this year’s Recycling week 2022 is ‘let’s get real‘. Therefore, what is a better way to get real than debunking myths and handing you real facts about recycling in the waste management industry?

Recycling is something that we all can do, and we have control over it. So, as a waste management company offering a full range of commercial and domestic ethical waste disposal solutions, we aim to reduce some of the confusion and myths around recycling waste, especially from the construction Industry as it is one of the biggest industries contributing to waste. This is a chance to set the facts straight and to educate as many people as we can about our industry and the importance of recycling.

Myth 1: Waste management companies don’t care about the environment

This cannot be further from the truth. In the UK we recycle over 20 million tonnes of materials every year. The UK waste industry and its trade bodies, such as The Environmental Services Association (ESA), work extremely diligently to transform the waste we throw away as a society into valuable resources, whilst protecting the environment. As one of the South’s leading waste management providers, Waltet is fully committed to protecting the environment, both locally and globally. Our company has even gone so far as to invest in a state-of-the-art wash plant in order to minimize the amount of waste being sent to landfills. Muckways/inert waste from construction companies will be washed and turned into new materials that will be reused on construction sites again. This will help towards certification like BREEAM for construction sites, which is part of the construction culture. Waltet not only meets its own environmental objectives but also helps construction companies reduce their carbon footprints. Throughout the waste management process, Waltet strives to minimize the impact on the environment.

Myth 2: Recycling is wasted labour; it all goes to landfill anyway!

Not true! Recycling is not wasted labour. In the construction industry, the term recycled materials refer to materials that have been reprocessed and used before. Reprocessing involves activities such as crushing, mixing, or grading aggregate to meet the required specifications. Recycled materials like aggregates are considered ‘green’ construction materials. In the past, demolition and construction debris would be disposed of in landfills, but now recycling waste from sites is considered beneficial for a number of reasons. Using recycled materials reduces the number of virgin materials that are created. This reduces the consumption of natural resources as there is increasing pressure on landfill capacity. In addition, there is pressure on construction sites to divert waste away from landfill to meet UK and sustainability targets.

For all aspects of Waltet’s operations, including waste collection, waste treatment and recycling, and landfill diversion, we continue to investigate and evaluate new, innovative, efficient and environmentally friendly processing techniques. Like our innovative wash plant that can recycle materials to be reused back in the construction industry, therefore recycling is indeed not wasted labour.

Myth 3: Recycling uses more energy than it saves

You already know it! This is a myth. Using recycled materials actually uses 95% less energy than making brand-new ones from virgin materials. Exploiting and processing virgin materials consumes a lot of energy and generates a lot of carbon dioxide. Through recycling, we are able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions due to less intensive processes required to transform virgin materials into usable and recyclable materials. Therefore, recycling materials is a much more energy-efficient method of creating new materials.

Increased recycling leads to lower levels of energy consumption, which then means less need for energy to be created. The overall effect of the recycling chain can be seen in the reduction of pollution, the reduction of environmental damage and the improvement of sustainability. Thus, recycling helps preserve valuable resources for future generations.

Need a waste management plan?

Hopefully, this article has shed some more insight into the waste management industry and the importance of recycling properly. If you are interested in a tailored waste management plan Call us on 023 8074 8826, or email us at sales@waltet.co.uk.