With temperatures and sea levels on the rise and wildlife facing extinction, it’s clear that global warming is a serious threat. By understanding its effects and taking preventative action, we can protect our planet from further environmental damage. Here are 100+ facts about recycling and sustainability to help you make an impact. 

Plastic | Aluminum | Glass | Coffee Cups | Food | Hazardous Waste | Construction Waste | Cardboard 
Coffee Grounds | Batteries | WEEE | Toners | Paper Towels | Flexible Plastic

• The UK recycles around 390,000 tonnes of plastic bottles a year.
• In landfills, plastic can take up to 1,000 years to completely decompose.
• There will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050. Currently, around 3.5 trillion fish are living in the ocean.
• Approximately 9% of all plastic bottles are recycled globally.
• 75% less energy is consumed to make a plastic bottle from recycled plastic than using ‘virgin’ material.
• 1 tonne of plastic translates into 25,000 plastic bottles
• Most plastic bottles and containers are made from Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or High-density polyethylene (HDPE).
• Microplastics can be found in every form of water we have, including tap water and have been found in human digestive tracts.
• Each minute, the equivalent of a truckload of plastic pollutes the oceans.
• 80% of beach waste globally is plastic; this includes cigarette butt filters, bottles, bottle tops, food wrappers, shopping bags, and polystyrene containers.
• Nearly a million plastic water bottles are sold every minute worldwide.
• Around 40% of all plastic waste produced worldwide comprises packaging material, much of which is never recycled or incinerated.

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• Aluminium is the third most common material in the crust of the Earth and the second most utilised metal by the Earth.
• 80% of all drink cans sold in the UK annually are made of aluminium.
• Recycling aluminium drink cans saves up to 95% of the energy needed to make aluminium from its raw materials.
• Around 70% of all aluminium drink cans are recycled globally, making the aluminium drink can the most recycled drink container on the planet.
• Aluminium can be recycled an unlimited number of times.
• Aluminium cans in landfills will take 500 years to decompose.
• Recycling one aluminium can will conserve enough electricity to run a television for three hours.
• The UK produces over 9 billion drinks cans every year.
• In the UK, the average household uses 144 meters of aluminium foil.
• High concentrations of aluminium are toxic to aquatic organisms.

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• On average, the UK household uses 500 glass bottles and jars every year.
• Glass can be recycled an unlimited number of times without losing its quality.
• Glass is unable to decompose, putting a significant strain on landfills.
• It’s estimated that more than 28 billion glass jars and bottles end up in landfills every year.
• It consumes less energy to recycle glass than to produce it from raw materials.
• In the UK, we currently recycle around 75% of all glass containers, such as bottles and jars.
• Finland and Switzerland recycle 90% of their glass bottles and jars.
• A tonne of glass is required to make about 4000 bottles or jars.
• Empty glass containers can be reused into something useful or aesthetically pleasing.
• Transparent glass bottles contain about 25% recycled glass, while green bottles contain 90% recycled glass.

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• Approximately 2.5 billion coffee cups are used and thrown away each year in the UK.
• Coffee cups contain a polyethylene lining to build resistance against heat, making them difficult to recycle.
• 99% of coffee cups in the UK are not being recycled, that’s around 7 million cups a day.
• Coffee cups can be reprocessed multiple times into high-quality paper, notebooks and cards.
• The polyethylene extracted from coffee cups can be used to make a range of plastic products, such as reusable containers or garden furniture.
• Coffee cups need to go through a specific process to remove the plastic lining from the virgin paper.
• Coffee cups can be recycled at a majority of high street coffee store chains and fast-food restaurants.
• The UK set a target to recycle all single-use cups by 2023.
• Around just 12 out of every 400 coffee cups are recycled at present.
• Many UK universities have implemented innovative reusable cup schemes.
• Costa and Starbucks offer a 25p discount if you reuse cups.

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• Around 15% of all food bought is thrown away by the average UK household.
• Food can be recycled into a clean source of renewable energy using anaerobic digestion.
• Food waste can be used as high-quality fertiliser and provide plants with rich minerals.
• Annually, food loss accounts for about 4.4 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions
• 25% of the freshwater source worldwide is used to produce food that is never consumed.
• 7.3 million people are struggling to feed themselves in the UK.
• Potatoes are one of the most commonly wasted foods in the UK.
• 65% of UK adults admit to buying too much food – Practice portion control to prevent food waste.
• Freeze your food by its use-by date to extend its shelf life.

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• Hazardous waste is any substance or chemical that may damage the environment.
• Manufacturing facilities, industrial operations and household products produce hazardous waste.
• There are four types of hazardous waste: reactive, ignitable, corrosive and toxic.
• Reactive wastes are those that, when heated, combined with water or compressed, can cause explosions.
• Ignitable wastes have flash points of less than 60 degrees Celsius.
• Corrosive wastes are liquids that can corrode metal containers.
• Toxic waste can cause significant health issues when swallowed, inhaled or absorbed by the skin.
• Annually, around 3 million tonnes of hazardous waste are produced in the UK
• Long-lasting effects of hazardous waste exposure on the human body are still somewhat unknown but have caused negative effects on our health and nature.
• Not all hazardous waste can be recycled and must be disposed of properly to prevent environmental damage.

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• The UK’s biggest consumer of natural resources is the construction industry.
• The construction sector in the UK contributes 400 million tonnes of material per year, which results in the production of 100 million tonnes of waste.
• Construction waste accounts for over 60% of the UK’s waste, with around 6 million tonnes of building waste destined for landfills.
• Metal construction waste can be smelted into new products.
• Recycling construction waste costs less than sending it to landfills.
• Nearly all of your construction waste can be recycled, reused or recovered.
• Broken glass cannot be recycled with your construction and demolition waste.
• Within the construction industry, 13% of waste is new, unused material.
• Around 92% of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste is recovered in some form.
• Masonry is crushed to make road bases, and appliances such as sinks and baths can be refitted if they are still in good condition.

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• Used pizza boxes heavily contaminated by food and grease do not get recycled.
• Recycling cardboard consumes 3/4 of the energy needed to make new cardboard.
• The United Kingdom has a very high cardboard and paper packaging recycling rate of over 70%, saving 2 million tonnes of waste from landfill every year.
• Cardboard is made from natural wood fibres, which are 100% recyclable.
• Recycling 1 ton of cardboard can save 46 gallons of oil.
• To allow the cardboard to be recycled easily, tape, polystyrene, and plastic should be separated from the cardboard.
• Corrugated cardboard boxes are biodegradable and non-toxic.
• Corrugated cardboard boxes are composed of three different layers of brown kraft paper.
• 17 trees are rescued for every ton of cardboard that is recycled.
• The ‘Musee Du Cartonnage et de Imprimerie’ is a museum entirely dedicated to cardboard packaging.

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• Recycling your coffee grounds produces 80% less CO2 emissions than if they were sent to landfill.
• Coffee grounds can be repurposed into new sustainable products.
• Coffee grounds contain rich minerals, which are perfect for fertilising your garden, and as a natural cleaning scrub, and can even exfoliate your skin.
• Recycling coffee grounds is cheaper for your company than disposing of coffee grounds in general waste.
• Coffee grounds are high in calorific value, meaning they burn 20% hotter and longer than conventional dry wood fuels.
• The UK drinks 95 million cups of coffee a day.
• Coffee grounds dumped into general waste and sent to landfill will emit methane.
• Coffee grounds can repel pests from slugs, snails, and even cats.
• If stored correctly, dried coffee grounds have a very long shelf life and can potentially last for years.
• Coffee grounds have proven to be quite effective in ridding your home of those not-so-nice odours.

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• When punctured batteries can leak harmful materials, which contaminate our local soils, groundwater, and streams.
• In the UK, every person in Britain uses around 10 batteries a year
• Lithium-ion batteries have been accused of triggering about 250 fires at waste facilities between April 2019 and March 2020
• The nickel recovered from batteries can be used to make steel, while lead is converted into ingots to produce new batteries.
• Battery acid can be recycled into sodium sulphate, which is used in laundry detergent and glass and textile manufacturing.
• Batteries do not need to be dead to be recycled. However, it’s desirable only to throw away your batteries when they can no longer be used in light of our sustainability values.
• People in the UK throw away 22,000 tonnes of batteries, only 40% of them are recycled properly
• Retailers selling more than 32kg of batteries a year have to provide recycling bins or facilities.
• There are multiple differentiating recycling types, some of which include: Lead-acid batteries, silver oxide batteries and Lithium-ion batteries.
• Rechargeable batteries consume less non-renewable natural resources overall than disposable batteries.
• Batteries are the fastest degrading components in phones.

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• Two million tonnes of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) items are discarded every year.
• About 40% of WEEEE comprises white goods (e.g. ovens, refrigerators, washing machines).
• Throughout their lives, the average UK resident can produce 3.3 tonnes of WEEE.
• 80 to 85% of electronic products were discarded in landfills or incinerators, which can emit hazardous toxins into the air.
• About 1.8 million electronic devices are used annually in the UK, and less than 20% of the WEEE waste is recycled.
• It’s energy-efficient to reuse used computers, but only about 2% of PCs ever find their way to a second user.
• About 50 million mobile phones are replaced every month globally, and just 10% are recycled.
• Studies indicate producing a computer and monitor takes at least 1.5 tonnes of water, 21 kilograms of chemicals and 240 kilograms of fossil fuels.
• Global WEEE waste is expected to grow by 3% per year.

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• Two million tonnes of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) items are discarded every year.
• About 40% of WEEEE comprises white goods (e.g. ovens, refrigerators, washing machines).
• Throughout their lives, the average UK resident can produce 3.3 tonnes of WEEE.
• 80 to 85% of electronic products were discarded in landfills or incinerators, which can emit hazardous toxins into the air.
• About 1.8 million electronic devices are used annually in the UK, and less than 20% of the WEEE waste is recycled.
• It’s energy-efficient to reuse used computers, but only about 2% of PCs ever find their way to a second user.
• About 50 million mobile phones are replaced every month globally, and just 10% are recycled.
• Studies indicate producing a computer and monitor takes at least 1.5 tonnes of water, 21 kilograms of chemicals and 240 kilograms of fossil fuels.
• Global WEEE waste is expected to grow by 3% per year.

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• Annually, approximately 270 million trees are cut down globally to make paper towels.
• Paper towels used for cleaning spills can’t be recycled because food and chemical residues contaminate the paper fibres.
• Paper towels can cost approximately 2-3 times more per month than warm air hand dryers and up to 20 times as much as a powerful cool air hand dryer.
• On average, producing a tonne of paper towels uses over 75,000 litres of water.
• Most kitchen rolls end up in landfills can take around 6 weeks to decompose.
• An average sized company will spend around £2,000 a year to cover paper towels, their refilling and disposal.
• For every tonne of paper towels produced, approximately 5.9 tonnes of CO2 are released into the atmosphere.
• Paper towels contribute to around 250 million tons of trash globally each year.
• Hand dryers can reduce a building’s CO2 emissions by nearly 70%.

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• Over 7 million meal deals are bought in the UK every day, generating a huge amount of flexible plastic waste.
• Flexible plastics can be in the form of film on sandwich boxes, crisp packets, sweet wrappers, and bags.
• 215 billion pieces of flexible plastic packaging are placed on the UK market every year.
• 10% or less of all flexible plastic is actually recycled.
• It takes 15 years on average for flexible plastic to break down.
• Aldi has flexible plastic collection points in a large number of stores in the UK
• 33 billion plastic problem items have been removed by UK Plastics Pact members.
• Many flexible plastics, made from different types of plastic (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene), often include other materials like aluminium foil or paper. These are extremely difficult to separate for traditional recycling.
• Recycling flexible plastic prevents pollution of natural environments, where it can harm wildlife and break down into persistent microplastics.

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