GreenTheWorld

Hi all, sorry I have not blogged for a while, I have been busy setting up E-Commerce on my website. It is oficially open but is definately a work in progress. I will be adding to my store constantly and changing the format at times until I get the look I want. Please tell family and friends who do not live close to shop at my store they can now shop online at www.greentheworldstore.com.

Also, there seems to be some confusion on the various "recycle" symbols. Below please find information that will hopefully clear up if something is recyclable or made from a recycled product.


Recycled
Recycling programs are increasing across the nation and around the world as a means of reducing the amount of landfill space needed for waste. But collecting papers and bottles is only half of the process. Consumers need to purchase products made of recycled materials to complete the cycle.Because Nature recycles everything-100 percent-every blade of grass, butterfly, fish, leaf, bird, all degrade back into the soil-every life form is made from recycled material. Even our own bodies are made from recycled food, broken down into basic nutrients and reassembled into cells.In the world of manufacturing consumer products, a "recycled" product is a new product made from materials that would otherwise have been waste, broken down (melted or pulped) into a basic substance from which a new product can be formed. Even though the word "recycled" is commonly used to mean reusing something in any way, legal definitions require the old product to be broken down into its basic material and a new product formed for it to be called "recycled."Recycled products have an almost universally-recognized symbol-the three "chasing arrows." It was originally developed in the 1970's by the American Paper Institute (API) for use on recycled papers, but is it now widely used on products of all kinds and has become the unofficial national symbol for recycling of anything and everything.The recycling symbol appears on products in two forms. API suggests that solid chasing arrows within a black circle represent "recycled content" in a product or package and that the arrows appearing in outline signify that a product or package is "recyclable". Permission to use the API chasing arrows symbol is given freely to any manufacturer without a fee. However, many products use the symbols without permission or guidance as to their meaning. Many people-consumers and manufacturers alike-do not understand these fine distinctions and either use the symbols incorrectly on the label, misunderstand the intended meaning of the symbol, or both. Look for other descriptive words explaining the meaning of the symbol for clarification.

There are three general levels of recycled products that can all be called "recycled".The first (appropriately called "primary recycling") is the reprocessing or remanufacturing of discarded materials into the same product which can then be recycled again, such as a glass container into a glass container or a steel product to a steel product. The second level ("secondary recycling") is the reprocessing or remanufacturing of discarded materials into a different, but similar, product which is technically recyclable-old corrugated cardboard boxes into cereal boxes, for example.The third level ("tertiary recycling") is the reprocessing or remanufacturing of discarded materials into a product which is not likely to be recycled, such as recycling mixed office paper into bathroom tissue. There is much controversy among manufacturers, distributors, regulators, and consumers over what constitutes a "real" recycled product. There are two kinds of recycled material that can go into making a recycled product. Post-industrial waste" or "pre-consumer waste" is that waste generated by industrial manufacturing processes that would have otherwise gone to a landfill (not included are wastes that have customarily been "put back in the pot" in the factory). "Post-consumer waste" or "PCW" is the bottles, cans, plastic milk jugs, and newspapers we collect and recycle after we are done using them. There are those who believe that only products made from post-consumer waste should be called "recycled." Considering that for every pound of consumer waste there is twenty-five pounds of manufacturing waste, pre-consumer waste has it's place in products called "recycled," too. Products just need to be labeled correctly so consumers can make their own choices.

Recyclable
As recycling programs are increasing across the nation and around the world as a means of reducing the amount of landfill space needed for waste, more and more products are becoming part of the goldmine of raw materials from which new products can be fashioned.A "recyclable" product is, simply, one that can be collected and made into a new recycled product. But when considering the recyclability of a product there are two separate and distinct issues: 1) Can a product or material technically be recycled? 2) In real life, can a product or material practically be recycled?The difference between these two definitions of "recyclable" is the subject of hot controversy in the product/packaging labeling world. Some say that any product or material that can technically be recycled should be labeled "recyclable." Others say that the attribute "recyclable" should only be used on a label if, in fact, it can really be recycled in the community where the product or package is sold. While recyclables such as glass or newspapers can be recycled almost everywhere, other recyclables like plastics or motor oil can only be recycled in the limited number of areas where programs have been set up.Because of inconsistencies in labeling laws and guidelines, consumers who want to buy a product or package they can recycle can't rely on the label to indicate what can and can't be recycled. Many manufacturers have removed the word "recyclable" from their products and packages altogether. Other manufacturers call their products and packages "recyclable" regardless of the availability of a local recycling center.Recyclable products have an almost universally-recognized symbol-the three "chasing arrows." It was originally developed in the 1970's by the American Paper Institute (API) for use on recycled papers, but is it now widely used on products of all kinds and has become the unofficial national symbol for recycling of anything and everything.The recycling symbol appears on products in two forms. API suggests that solid chasing arrows within a black circle be used to represent "recycled content" in a product or package and that the arrows appearing in outline signify that a product or package is recyclable. Permission to use the API chasing arrows symbol is given freely to any manufacturer without a fee. However, many products use the symbols without permission or guidance as to their meaning. Many people-consumers and manufacturers alike-do not understand these fine distinctions and either use the symbols incorrectly on the label, misunderstand the intended meaning of the symbol, or both. Look for other descriptive words that indicate the intended meaning of the symbol.Whether or not is economically feasible to recycle a product is yet another question. Often, virgin raw materials are cheaper than recycled materials (thanks to government subsidies and policies). Transportation issues can also come into play-is it better for the environment to use a local raw material or recycled material transported from a great distance? The shipping costs of moving collected recyclables to a distant processing plant can eat up all the profit. And, recently, there have been gluts of recyclable material-especially newspapers-that become worthless when there are not enough buyers of recycled products. All these problems can be worked out. It's important now to support the market for recyclable material by buying recycled products, and not simply give up on recycling as impractical.The primary markets for recycled materials right now are aluminum and other scrap metals, glass, paper and plastic. These are easily recognizable even without the word "recyclable" on the label.Because recyclability of any product is so specific to your local community, it's important to know which products technically can be recycled, and which can practically be recycled where you live. Take an hour or two to find out how and where your recyclables can be recycled, then make convenient arrangements in your home for collection, and take recyclables to the collection center (or put them out for pick-up) on a regular basis.Now that we are faced with the need to conserve resources and limited landfill space, recycling will become as normal a part of our lives as taking out the garbage. In the last few years, the collection of recyclables and the manufacture of recycled products has becomes a multimillion dollar industry. We are beginning to see that recycling is the most effective and economical way to handle the waste we produce in this country.A very large portion of our waste is recyclable or otherwise reusable. If we recycled all of our paper and paperboard (40%), all of our metals (9%), all of our plastic (8%), and all our glass (7%), we would reduce our total garbage by 64 percent! If, in addition, we reclaimed our wood (4%), rubber (3%), and textiles (2%) for other uses, we would be down to only 27 percent of our current garbage. By composting yard wastes (18%) and food wastes (7%), we're left with only two percent of our current solid waste to place in a landfill or otherwise dispose of. Of course, this is idealistic, but it's an sustainability goal worth pursuing. Though the national recycling average is only 13%, some individual states have higher recycling rates: Washington 28%, New Jersey 25%, Oregon 25%, Vermont 18%, Illinois 18%, and Maine 17%.