General Recycling

• Recycling by Material
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling_by_material
• Which Materials can you Recycle
• http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/which-materials-can-you-recycle.html

Plastic

• Heat Compression
• Taking all types of plastics both soft ans hard to and passing them through heated tumblers into a single material
• Thermal Depolymerization
• Using chemicals to break down the plastic to turn into petroleum and other fuels

• Plastic Recycling
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_recycling
• Recycling Plastics Today: A Growing Solution
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5p6Nk3SzcU

Glass:

• The glass products are cleaned and separated by colour into Flint (clear), Amber (brown) and Green.
• The glass is crushed into cullet and added to raw materials comprised of Soda Ash, Limestone and Silica Sand
• New items can then be blown or molded from the material

• The Smashing Story of Recycled Glass
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R8YObQbE88
• Glass Recycling
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHEY3LkBHU8

Metal

• Metal items can be easily separated using magnets and are the largest recycled material in the world. The cans can be crushed into bales for easy transportion.
• Steel cans can be recycled with no loss of quality through remelting
• Aluminium can also be recycled with no loss of quality can saves 95% of the energy of making one from scratch.

• Rexam's Full Circle Film - The Life Cycle of an Aluminium Can]
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dK1VVtja5c

Cardboard

• Cardboard is separated between 2 categories. Box card (cereal boxes) and corrugated cardboard.
• The cardboard is soaked in water and chemicals to break down the fibers to a pulp.
• The pulp is fed through filters to remove glue, tape and ink.
• The pulp is then combined with fresh pulp to add strength to the weaken fibers.
• The combined pulp mix is finally pushed through various heated rollers to remove any remaining water and dry the cardboard into sheets.

• Process of Recycling Cardboard
• http://www.livestrong.com/article/174486-process-of-recycling-cardboard
• How Cardboard is Recycled
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx0ozMweqoU

Food

• Landfills
• Produces large amounts of Methane Gas as it decomposes
• Attracts vermin, flies and birds
• Animal Feed
• Feeding scraps to animals saves the waste from entering landfills. This creates less air pollutants than food scraps in landfills.
• Composting
• Food waste can be composted to reuse as fertile soil in around 60-100 days
• Vermicomposting is using worms to help break down the scraps

On the Wellington City Council website lists what can and can;t be put into compost bins.

• Can be Composted
• Vegetable and Fruit Scraps
• Cooked Meat Scraps
• Cooked Bones
• Small to Medium
• Shells
• Oyster, Mussel, Clam, Crab, Eggs
• Bread and Baking Products
• Cheeses, Desserts and Cream
• Coffee Grounds and Filters
• Nuts and Cereals
• Pasta and Rice
• Tea Bags and Tea Leaves
• Flowers, Plants and Garden Waste
• Unbleached Paper Serviettes
• Compostable Packaging
• Paper, Potato
• Can't be Composted
• Large Cooked Bones
• Raw Bones of any size
• Raw Fish and Meat
• Oils, Liquid Waste
• Oil Based Plastics
• Cigarette Butts
• Cleaning Products
• Cloth
• Tea Towels
• General Rubbish and Recycling

• Food Waste
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_waste
• Food Waste Recycling in Hong Kong
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_waste_recycling_in_Hong_Kong
• Food Waste
• http://wellington.govt.nz/services/environment-and-waste/rubbish-and-recycling/recycling/businesses/food-waste
• Household Food Waste
• http://wellington.govt.nz/services/environment-and-waste/rubbish-and-recycling/recycling/food-waste