Countries around the world are introducing innovative new recycling policies to cut back on waste and move towards a greener future. This article explores some of the key international examples.
At SnappD, we are committed to providing a product that helps businesses and consumers reduce their carbon footprint as well as their overall levels of waste. With our 100% recyclable sachets, we aim to be one of the leading UK companies by offering a greener solution to market and product packaging.
To move towards a greener future, it’s important to learn from how others are reducing their levels of waste. Many countries across Europe are already paving the way here. Indeed, Europe was one of the first continents to introduce a widespread separation of waste and recycling. The EU has also set the objective of recycling 65% of household waste by 2030. Here are some other examples of countries that have managed to ensure that citizens recycle more.
The Netherlands aren’t just focused on ensuring that more waste is recycled in homes. Instead, the government aims to ensure that models of sustainability are achieved in various sectors and elements of society including mobility and construction. In 2018, the country built a bike path between Zwolle and Geithoom that was entirely created using plastic that had been recycled.
This isn’t the first time that plastic has been used to create roads. It’s happened in other countries across the globe. However, this was the first path to be created using only plastic.
As well as being committed to using countless materials, the country also wants to ensure that they are the leaders in renewable energy. In 2020, 11.1% of total energy consumed across the country was renewable.
Japan strives to take things further than other countries and is committed to achieving a zero waste culture. This is critical for Japan because of the massive populated cities that produce millions of tons of waste every year.
Japan is already effective at reusing and recycling the waste that they produce. The government encourages citizens to manage their own waste and ensure that they are classified correctly. The waste is also collected through highly efficiency processes.
One town in Japan, Kamikatsu, has taken things a little further. The small town is located high in the mountains. As such, it’s difficult to include it in the existing recycling system used for cities. The town’s people separate the waste into different categories and transport it to recycling centres. The town recycles 90% of their waste and aims to reach 100% in the next few years.
In the past, Japan has shown its commitment to recycling in numerous ways. For instance, the medals for the Tokyo Olympic Games were made of recycled metals.
Sweden’s recycling scheme is so successful that they no longer produce enough waste to be burned in their plants. Due to this, they have started importing extra waste from countries like Germany and even the UK. How did they manage this?
Sweden was already committed to protecting the environment. The culture of this country is based on eco-friendly living standards. However, the government also focused on ensuring that citizens were aware they needed to separate their waste. In Sweden, waste is separated into coloured bags based on the type of waste.
Recycling plants then do the heavy lifting, deciding which waste is recyclable and what’s rubbish. The rubbish is sent to plants to be burned along with waste from other countries. It’s transformed into energy and provides electricity for 250,000 homes across the country. At the same time, the recycled elements are re-used as new materials.
If you look at the latest statistics, you’ll see that Canada is far from a leading country when it comes to recycling. According to reports Canadians recycle about 20% of their total waste. However, it also has a circular economy culture. It’s common for people in Canada to give away or donate products that they are no longer using instead of throwing them away.
They are also pioneers in terms of recycling certain products including tyres. The material from the tyres are resumed to build roads as well as playground surfacing.
As well as this, there are cities around Canada like Montreal that have special bins for cigarette ends. This doesn’t just ensure that they are kept off the streets. Instead, these containers are used to recycle the ends of cigarettes. That’s important as they are one of the discarded items that causes the highest levels of pollution in the world today.
Twenty years ago, the level of waste that was recycled in Wales was just 5%. Today, 65% of waste is recycled in the country with the aim of increasing that by 75% in 2025. By 2050, the government of Wales wants to ensure that it is one of the leading zero waste nations.
The government achieved this through ambitious plans which were designed to promote a circular economy, similar to the one seen through Canada. There are countless measures used around the country to achieve this including the reduction of single-use products. Households are also required to separate their waste into recycling and industrial manufacturers are also responsible for ensuring that they keep recycling levels high.
The country also aims to create plans designed to recycle items such as nappies and mattresses that are not currently recyclable. This shows that Wales is ready for a zero waste future.
It’s clear then that countless countries are doing their part to ensure a greener future for the planet by introducing the right recycling policies. This is more important now than ever before as China recently stopped importing waste from other countries to process in their plans. This means that waste such as plastic will need to be managed more effectively by countries like the UK, America, France and other leading polluters. The right recycling policy can be the critical change these countries desperately need. With our single dose recyclable cachets, we hope to help any country achieve their goals here.
