Conservation, Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Substitution IB SL

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Reduce the amount of the Earth's resources that we use. Reuse Don't just bin it, could someone else make use of it? Recycle Can the materials be made into something new?

Substitution and Landfill Substitution: is basically when you use one resource over another for example using alternative fuels rather than fossil fuels to benefit the environment. Landfill: Burying waste in the ground (filling in land with rubbish). It is cheap but sites are filling up/running out. This waste is mainly domestic but some hazardous waste is allowed.

Fly-Tipping When people or companies dump waste and old equipment and is becoming an increasing problem due to Increased costs of landfill. Many goods are hazardous. New E.U. Regulations are being imposed which could be costly to manufacturers.

Waste Imports In China Dumping of old equipment is becoming an increasing problem. A new PC requires at least 10 times its weight in fossil fuels and chemicals. Old PC’s are often shipped to LEDC’s to be recycled. Workers bathe the components in acid to strip the materials apart.

Waste Imports In China Imports more than 3m tonnes of waste plastic and 15m tonnes of paper and cardboard per year. A third of UK’s waste plastic and paper is exported to China every year. Low wages and a large workforce means this waste can be sorted out cheaply. This is not responsible as a lot of countries are just exporting their waste to other places.

Activity Create a Poster/Fact-Sheet to educate people of how they can make changes to their lives in order to think about the environment... Reduce Re-use Recycle Conserve Substitute