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Reuse is not limited to repeated uses for the same purpose. Examples of repurposing include using tires as boat fenders and steel drums or plastic drums as feeding troughs and/or composting bins. Incinerator and power plant exhaust stack fly-ash is used extensively as an additive to concrete , providing increased strength.
Waste valorization, beneficial reuse, beneficial use, value recovery or waste reclamation [1] is the process of waste products or residues from an economic process being valorized (given economic value), by reuse or recycling in order to create economically useful materials.
The reuse stage encourages finding alternative uses for products, whether through donation, resale, or repurposing. Reuse extends the life of products and delays their entry into the waste stream. Recycling, the final preferred stage, involves processing materials to create new products, thus closing the loop in the material lifecycle.
Recycling materials waiting to be barged away on the Chicago River Trash and recycle bin at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Recycling statistics (ca. 2014) [16] with similar numbers as of 2015 [17] An average of approximately 258 million tons of trash is generated by the United States in 2014 34.6% was recycled; 12.8% was combusted for ...
Resource recovery can be enabled by changes in government policy and regulation, circular economy infrastructure such as improved 'binfrastructure' to promote source separation and waste collection, reuse and recycling, [5] innovative circular business models, [6] and valuing materials and products in terms of their economic but also their social and environmental costs and benefits. [7]
Therefore, closed-loop recycling may be considered part of environmental sustainability programs. [8] One goal of closed-loop recycling is to reuse materials in an identical role as before recycling. [3] [5] In contrast, open-loop recycling systems do not reclaim all of a resource. Whether by design or due to the physical and chemical ...
All products and services have environmental impacts, from the extraction of raw materials for production to manufacture, distribution, use and disposal. Following the waste hierarchy will generally lead to the most resource-efficient and environmentally sound choice but in some cases refining decisions within the hierarchy or departing from it can lead to better environmental outcomes.
Reuse is the action or practice of using an item, whether for its original purpose (conventional reuse) or to fulfill a different function (creative reuse or repurposing). It should be distinguished from recycling , which is the breaking down of used items to make raw materials for the manufacture of new products.