The process of Recycling ..

What is Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Recycling?

Frequently we hear the word recycling and we hesitate, thinking a second before committing to anything. Long time back, recycling was not considered to be a safe and good practice, but over time it has been shown that with care and due diligence, we can indeed use recycled products and save the environment.

Recycling logo seen on products

.

There are three types of recycling, known as primary, secondary and tertiary. 

   1. Primary recycling means that the recyclable material/product is recovered and reused without being changed in any way and usually for the very same purpose. 

   2. Secondary recycling means that the material/product is reused in some other way without reprocessing 

   3. Tertiary recycling refers to a process that involves chemical altering of the 

material/product in order to make it reusable. www.recyclingconsortium.org.uk 

Examples of Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Recycling

Primary-

In order for the material/product to be classified as primary recycled, it mustn't be changed in any way. Primary recycling can be defined as secondhand use - reusing yourself, donating to a friend, family member or charity organisation, or/and selling. Using a second hand jeans bought from a roadside vendor.

Secondary-

Secondary recycling involves some sort of modification of the material/product without the use of chemical processes. Examples include cutting the plastic drinking water bottle into two parts and using one part as a pen stand or a flower vase, plant pot, cutting and reshaping various waste products to make arts and crafts, cutting envelopes into smaller pieces to use them as scrap paper, etc. Cutting a jeans at the knee so that it becomes a denim trouser.

Tertiary-.

If a material/product has been tertiary recycled it means it has been reprocessed either by a chemical process or heat. Examples include melting metals, chemically treating old paper and breaking down plastic bottles in order to make brand new products. Cutting open old jeans so that it can be used as a swabbing cloth.

Recycling bins colours in different countries

Tertiary recycling can be external or internal. 

     External recycling means that the recycled materials/products were recovered and reprocessed thanks to public participation - sorting waste and putting it in recycling bins to be collected and transferred to reprocessing facilities. 

     Internal recycling means that the materials/products were recovered without public participation, for example within factories and manufacturing facilities. www.recyclingconsortium.org.uk

As per Pollution Control Board in India (Haryana), the colours are as given here -

• Green for Biodegradable wastes, 
• Black for e-waste  (E-waste)
• Blue - plastics and metals   (Plastics and metals)

Danes use incinerators to handle all types of wastes (click here for video)

Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials. Incineration and other high-temperature waste treatment systems are described as "thermal treatment". Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas and heat. Wikipedia.

In fact incineration can be considered as a fourth category of recycling called quaternary recycling where the plastics and other wastes are burnt to recover the heat from the process to product steam or to transfer it to a heat exchanger etc..

Manchester City Council of UK has comes up with a site that tells to what colour recycling bins to dump our waste (click here) and another one that tells us how these wastes can be recycled (click here).

www.kayalankadai(click here) is a reliable domestic waste collection website that collects wastes from the homes around Coimbatore and segregates them and recycles them.

www.kuppathotti.com (click here) and www.kachradabba.com (click here) are online waste collection services operating in Bangalore, Chennai and Pune that comes to your doorstep to collect domestic wastes and pays you for it as well.

Biogas :

Breaking down organic waste in the absence of oxygen produces a gas called as biogas. This gas can be used for cooking, heating purposes. www.biotech-india.org is a company that sells equipments..

Compost : 

Decomposing organic waste from homes etc in a pit mixed with soil, coir, peat etc produces organic manure which can be used as fertilizers for plants avoiding the use of chemical fertilizers. www.dailydump.org is an organisation that helps meet your composting needs and advice..