Raw Materials Versus Recycling - Which Is Better?
June 11, 2007 · Written by Joel
Recycling, of course, has lots of benefits such as reducing landfill space and conserving resources, but how much energy is actually saved by recycling? Compared to creating an item from the raw material, how much energy is used in creating a recycled item?
Even if you take all your recycling by car to the collection centre, the benefits still seem to add up. A Carbon Unit (CU) equals 1 kilogram of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
| Material | Raw | Recycled | Saving |
| Newspaper | 1.5CU | 0.6CU | 60% |
| Plastic milk bottle | 0.4CU | 0.2CU | 50% |
| Glass wine botte | 0.3CU | 0.2CU | 20% |
| Tin can | 0.1CU | 0.03CU | 70% |
[Via: BBC Focus Magazine]
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