Recycling
is not new; it has been around for thousands of years. From the beginning
commercial success has driven recycling. Currently about 45% of the
world’s 1.3 billion tonnes annual production of steel comes from
scrap. Over 40% of the
world’s copper production and about one third of the world’s
aluminum is also produced from recycled material.
Canadian recyclers process
between 16 and 18 million tonnes of scarp metal each year. Similar
economic success can be stated for the fibre products that come from
the forestry sector and plastics and chemicals that come from the
oil industries.
Recycling
used materials and products is a win-win situation for Canadian
business and the environment.
It is sustainable development. It reduces environmental
problems, contributes to green house gases (GHG) reduction, reduces
energy requirements, and maximizes the use of finite natural
resources. Furthermore
it has been shown to creates 10 times the employment and revenue,
when compare to the waste industry.
Fifteen years ago the
Department of Natural Resources reported that some 1000 metal
recycling companies in Canada employed 20,000 directly and another
60,000 indirectly.
Today those figures are thought to have doubled. In addition, there are
comparable numbers for paper fibre recyclers and even more companies
and employment for plastic, oils and solvent, rubber and glass
recyclers.
CARI
is working hard on behalf of its members and the whole industry to
educate Canadians about the economic benefits and the realities of
recycling.
