Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the properties it had in its original state. It is an alternative to "conventional" waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. It can also prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reducing energy use, air pollution and water pollution.
Inside a British factory, a textile worker rakes newly-made 'shoddy' which was then combined with new wool to make new cloth
American poster from World War II
British poster from World War II
Poster from wartime Canada, encouraging housewives to "salvage"
Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste product may become a by-product, joint product or resource through an invention that raises a waste product's value above zero.
An art installation created with plastic bottles and other non-biodegradable waste
Onkalo, a deep geological repository for the final disposal of the radioactive waste, located near the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant in Eurajoki, Finland
Waste generation, measured in kilograms per person per day
A specialized trash collection truck providing regular municipal trash collection in a neighborhood in Stockholm, Sweden