Reducing Use of Resources (AQA GCSE Chemistry)

• Everyday materials such as glass, metal, plastics, ceramics are produced from natural but finite sources
• Some products made from these materials can be reused which saves energy and decreases the environmental impact
• Glass bottles only need to be washed and sterilised before they can be reused
• Other products cannot be reused in this way but can be processed and recycled
• Metals can be melted and recast into new shapes
• Sometimes the materials being recycled need to be kept separate, depending on what the use of the recycled material will be
• Iron for example can be recycled together with waste steel as both materials can be added to a blast furnace, reducing the use of iron ore
• Glass that is broken or damaged and cannot be reused is separated by colour and composition before being recycled
• The glass is then crushed and melted, and remoulded into shape for its new use
• Recycling has advantages and disadvantages

Economic Implications

• It is economically beneficial to recycle metals, especially those that are costly to extract such as aluminium
• Recycling is fast becoming a major industry and provides employment which feeds back into the economy

Environment

• Mining and extracting metal from ores has detrimental effects on the environment and ecosystems
• It is much more energy efficient to recycle metals than it is to extract them as melting and re-moulding requires less energy
• Recycling decreases the amount of waste produced, hence saving space at landfill sites and energy in transport

Glass, steel and concrete are usually produced from finite resources

Raw Materials

• There is a limited supply of every material on Earth
• As global populations increase there is a greater need for effective recycling methods to attain sustainable development
• Mining and extraction use up valuable fossil fuels, which contributes to climate change

Disadvantages

• Collection and transport of material to be recycled requires energy and fuel
• Workers, vehicles and work sites need to be organised and maintained
• Materials need to be sorted before they can be recycled which also requires energy and labour
• Products made from recycled materials may not always be of the same quality as the original