Use of English. RECYCLING (Pre-Int)

RECYCLING – FACTS AND FIGURES

In the UK, the average household ¹______ a large amount of waste every day. Last year alone, households got rid of 30.5 million tonnes of waste and only 17% of that was recycled. This figure is actually very low compared to other parts of Europe, ²______ some recycle as much as 50% of their waste. It costs around £150 per tonne to dispose of waste, and over £1,000 to get rid of chemicals such as paint. There is still a great deal of waste that can ³______, but still ends up in landfill sites. This is harmful to the environment. If we don’t try to do something now, ⁴______ end up with a heavily polluted planet.

When ⁵______ the figures between Britain and other European countries, the facts are quite startling. It is clear that we still have a lot of work to do, in order to protect our environment. In the UK, we still bury ⁶______ 90% of our waste. Compare this to Denmark, where they ⁷______ bury around 10% – a huge difference.

Recycling is the best way to reduce the amount of energy we consume. For instance, did you know that recycling one recycled aluminium ⁸______ save enough energy to power a television for three hours. Recycling a single glass bottle could save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.

Experts ⁹______ that up to 60% of the waste that ends ¹⁰______ in the rubbish bin ¹¹______ be recycled. This includes aluminium cans, cardboard, glass and plastic. The energy that could be saved by recycling the waste which is left in the average person’s bin could power a television for 5,000 hours. We ¹²______ cut down on packaging from supermarkets and shops too. On average, 16% of the price of products we buy pays for packaging, and this ¹³______ ends up in the rubbish bin. In a recent poll, it ¹⁴______ that nine out of 10 people would recycle if it was made easier. Now the local council ¹⁵______ a service to collect recyclable waste every week, so really, there is no excuse. We must all start recycling now.