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Recycling can help to tackle climate change....Millie and her family live in Helston and they are concerned about climate change. One of the things they are doing to help tackle it is recycling. Why they are doing things to help the climate.... As a family they recognise they can easily do something to reduce their own impact on the climate. They feel we all need to do our bit and recycling is just one of the easy and free ways they are helping to save energy, help the climate, and reduce waste. They feel we must do something to help the climate before it is too late and recognise that the climate is already beginning to change in Cornwall. What they are doing.... Millie and her family recycle everything they can on a daily basis. This includes card, plastic, paper, tin, glass, cans and kitchen waste. They make use of the local kerbside recycling scheme which takes away recycled Why it’s important….. Reducing overall consumption of materials helps us to tackle climate change and recycling has a role to play in this. Although recycling alone won’t solve climate change, it does help to save energy and this makes a contribution to reducing its threat. Any products we buy take raw materials and energy to make, so our consumption contributes indirectly to climate change because it requires energy to mine/extract/harvest, process, and transport raw materials. It takes even more energy to manufacture and transport products and once we have finished with them, to dispose of them. So by reducing, reusing and recycling waste we can save on the raw materials and energy which are needed to make new paper, metal, glass and other items. It also reduces the amount of waste that goes to landfill or incineration. By recycling you can help reduce your own emissions. It is so easy to do and it doesn’t cost you anything. It’s important because most of the energy needed to produce and deliver products comes from burning fossil fuels which results in more carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere which is the main gas that causes climate change. By recycling you can reduce the amount of energy and new materials that are needed and therefore help to reduce climate change. A recent report from WRAP, ‘Environmental Benefits of Recycling’; found that recycling offers more environmental benefits and lower environmental impacts than Not convinced about how recycling can help save energy and help the climate? The Recycle-Now website run by WRAP has detailed information on recycling different materials, it includes the following facts:
Further information.... For more information about how our energy use contributes to climate change, visit our understanding climate change pages. For general information and links to a wide range of resources visit the Governments Environment and Greener Living website. For more information and news on aspects of recycling locally you can visit the Recycle for Cornwall website. There is also a web based postcode search facility which shows what your local council will collect from your kerbside, what other local facilities are available near your own home and the contact details for recycling in your local council. For more detailed information on all aspects of recycling visit the Recyclenow website. To read the report produced by WRAP on the environmental benefits of recycling visit their website For more information on how saving energy within the home can help tackle climate change see the following climate radio stories:
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materials directly from their doorstep every fortnight. They also recycle textiles through local charity shops in Helston and compost their kitchen waste. In addition to recycling they have also taken steps to help the climate by reducing energy use within the home. They have insulated their house with loft insulation and double glazing and they have fitted low energy light bulbs. 
other waste management options. It found that the UK’s current recycling of paper/cardboard, glass, plastics, aluminium and steel saves between 10-15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per year, compared to applying the current mix of landfill and incineration with energy recovery to the same materials. 