Building Material Recycling

The three golden rules of sustainability we were taught as kids are reduce, reuse, and recycle. But for some reason, “recycle” was the one most highlighted. As we learn more and more about going green, it’s becoming more and more clear that recycling is actually the least important of those three totems. Sure, recycling is important, but if we reduced what we were using and reused what we were using in place of single-use options, there would be significantly less stuff in the world to recycle. And less stuff is key to — not to get too hyperbolic here but — saving the planet.

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It is important to recycle, but while we may know that we’re “supposed to do it,” many of us might not understand exactly why. And let’s be honest it’s tricky, too. Different materials — even different kinds of plastics — contain numbers, called resin identification codes, that indicate how these materials should and can be recycled, meaning they need to be separated. These numbers go from one to seven and if you don’t separate them accordingly, it could mean an imperfect recycling choice.

Electronics and tech products also have their own category for recycling, which forces people to have to separate them from other recycling. And even if you recycle “correctly,” it could be all for naught. After all, items made of multiple materials or stained with food or grease often can’t be recycled. 

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Plus, there’s always the chance that something lightweight (and probably plastic) will blow off or jam a recycling machine. To top it all off, some plastics are completely non-recyclable. 

Like we said, recycling can be tricky, but still — it’s important! Keep reading for all the benefits of recycling and why it’s essential for the planet.

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Building products such as bricks, blocks, plasterboard, wood and glass, plus all those metal door and window furniture can all be recycled to good effect, as we have proven. Designing equipment and then producing prototypes is expensive, so we appreciate your support.