The recycling logo of the three ‘chasing arrows’ represents the three famous Rs — reduce, reuse, recycle.
As much as 16 per cent of the cost of a product is spent on its packaging, which is completely wasted if not reused or disposed of appropriately. It is estimated that about 75 per cent of garbage generated could be recycled for other uses. For instance, plastics, which can take up to 500 years to decompose, can often be recycled.
When you recycle one glass bottle, it can save enough energy to power a personal computer for 25 minutes. And one recycled tin can save enough energy to power a TV for 3 hours.
One tonne of recycled paper can save 17 trees. Recycled paper reduces water pollution by 35 per cent and air pollution by 74 per cent, besides eliminating many toxic pollutants.
Each year, we throw out enough soda cans and bottles to reach the moon and back 20 times. Disposable diapers last many centuries in landfills. In the West, an average baby goes through almost 8,000 of them!