Science And Recycling: What Is Possible?

For so long, we were unaware of how the environment was affected by what we have come to consider as human activity. As a result, in the present day we find ourselves running somewhat to catch up, and the only way that we can get more out of ourselves in the recycling process is to look to science for help. How can the scientific sector help us to make the future cleaner and greener. What is on offer as a recycling head start?

Scientists are working on a system of making fuel from biomass – a word to describe any materials we dispose of that may be able to biodegrade fast and have another use. As things stand, biomass fuel is still very much a niche industry – but if it gets the opportunity it could be the solution to two problems in one. Less burning of fossil fuels means less harm to the air quality and less contribution to global warming. The use of garbage of fuel means more space in landfills.

Recent advances in the recycling of paper have included “deinking”, a system which draws the ink from newsprint as part of the recycling process. The outcome of this is that recycled paper is now of a better quality than ever, making it usable in a wider range of processes and lessening the need to cut down trees for the purposes of making virgin paper. The logic inherent in doing this is obvious. More trees means less carbon dioxide, more recycled paper means less pollution – allowing us to cut the amount of pollutants in our environment.