Conservation &
Recycling
Recycling Notes
1. Resources: Materials from the natural environment
that humans use.
Ex) plants, animals, metals, oil & gases
2. Renewable Resources: Materials replenished by
natural processes. (If we don’t use them too fast.)
Ex) fresh air and water, plants & animals
3. Nonrenewable Resources: Materials that cannot be
replenished.
Ex) metals, natural gas, coal & petroleum
4. The US accounts for 5% of the world’s population and
uses 50% of the world’s resources.
The average US citizen uses 25 tons of resources
withdrawn from the Earth each year.
In a lifetime a typical US citizen uses:

26 million gallons of water

21,000 gallons of gasoline

52 tons of iron & steel

50 tons of food

6.5 tons of paper

5 tons of fertilizer

1200 barrels of petroleum
5. We must conserve our nonrenewable resources.
6. Using or obtaining resources and using products often
produces new unwanted material and pollution:
 burning coal generates corrosive gases
 chewing gum – throw away the wrapper
 drink coffee – old coffee maker breaks - discard
 read paper – discard
 eating quick – uses a lot of overpackaged food and
products
7. Land Fills: Garbage can be resources out of place.
 The average US citizen “throws away” 4 lbs of
garbage per day.
 2 lbs of this is paper.
 80% of land fills will be filled within 20 years!
 Time to decompose in a landfill can be very long.
 US disposes of 1.1 million tons of paper
plates/cups per year
 US disposes of 250 million tires per year
How long does it take for a glass bottle to decompose?
•
•
•
•
•
napkin –
1 year
newspaper – 5 years
plastic bag – 20 years nylon fabric – 40 years
tin cans –
50 years plastic rings – 100 years
plastic cup – 250 years Al cans – 500 years
glass bottle – 1 million years
• Which of these are renewable?
8. Five R’s of Conservation:
 Replace – use something different instead
 Reuse – repair/refurbish - use longer
 Recycle – reprocess to use again
 Rethink – how we act/habits in conserving
(buy in bulk)
 Reduce – use less of each resource
9. Benefits of Recycling More:
 decrease waste storage problem (landfill space)
 lower demand for nonrenewable resources
 lower price for nonrenewable resources
 lower pollution
 save energy/$
 more jobs
10. Recycling Materials Examples:
Paper
 renewable resource
(25 years).
Average US citizen
uses 8.5 trees per year.
 ½ the energy required
to process recycled
paper.
 Only 20% of our paper
is recycled.
B. Aluminum
 nonrenewable resource.
 US imports 85% of our Al.
 Recycling Al takes only 5-10% of the energy
needed to produce Aluminum from its ore.
 50% of our Aluminum cans are recycled.
C. Glass
 nonrenewable resource made from sand.
 20-25% of our glass is made from recycled
glass.
D. Plastic
 nonrenewable resource
made from petroleum.
The number inside the
chasing arrows symbol
on the bottom of the
plastic is the key to the
type of plastic.
The lower the number –
the easier it is to recycle.
Polyethylene Terephalate – tough and
lightweight. Accounts for 48% of all plastic.
Used for 2-L soda bottles and many other foods.
Can be recycled into fabric for clothing, athletic
shoes, luggage, upholstery, furniture, carpet,
fiberfill for sleeping bags and winter coats, luggage
racks, bumpers, and grilles.
High Density Polyethylene – tough and stiff. Accounts for
47% of all plastic. Used for milk containers and many other
foods. Can be recycled into drainage pipe, liquid laundry
detergent bottles, oil bottles, pens, benches, doghouses,
recycling containers, floor tile, picnic tables, fencing, lumber,
and mailbox posts.
Therefore 95% of all plastic is #1 and #2 which can be recycled easily!
Polyvinylchloride (PVC) – tough and grease resistant. Used for
window cleaner bottles, cooking oil bottles, detergent bottles and
siding. Can be recycled into binders, decking, paneling, mud
flaps, roadway gutters, flooring, cables, speed bumps, and mats.
Low density polyethylene – flexible and transparent. Used for
squeezable bottles, bread bags, frozen food bags, tote bags,
clothing, furniture, dry cleaning bags, and carpet. Can be recycled
into floor tile, garbage can liners, shipping envelopes, furniture,
compost bins, paneling, trash cans, lumber, and landscaping ties.
Polypropylene – tough and low density. Very heat resistant – can
be used for yogurt containers, syrup bottles, ketchup bottles, caps,
straws and medicine bottles. Can be recycled into signal lights,
battery cables, brooms, brushes, auto battery cases, ice scrapers,
landscape borders, bicycle racks, rakes, bins, pallets, and trays.
Polystyrene – good insulator, low melting point. Used for
plastics &, cups, cutlery, meat trays, egg cartons, carryout containers, aspirin bottles, and compact disc jackets.
Can be recycled into insulation, light switch plates, egg
cartons, vents, rulers, foam packing, and carry-out
containers.
Other – can be a combination of any of the 6 types
of plastic or an unnumbered container. Can be
used for three and five gallon water bottles, and
certain food product bottles. It is recycled into
plastic lumber, and other custom-made products.
Materials D.4: Combinations of
Elements – page 160
11. Alloy: a solid combination of atoms of 2 or
more metals.
 Zn & Cu = brass
 Cu & Sn = bronze
 Sn, Cu & Bi = pewter
 Fe & C = steel
 Au, Cu & Ag = 14 kt gold
 Au & Pd = white gold
 Hg, Ag, Sn, Cu, Zn = amalgam (silver fillings)
C.4: % Composition Notes
1. History of US Penny:
A. pre 1943 – made almost 99% copper
B. 1943 – “white cents” – zinc coated steel
C. 1944 – back to 99% copper
D. Since August 1982 – 97.5% zinc coated with 2.5% copper.