Recycling Round the World

The Global Face of Recycling

Recycling is such an easy way to be eco-friendly. It saves our natural resources, reduces pollution and creates jobs! It’s a great way to fight climate change every day.

But recycling practices differ worldwide.

Here are some examples of how the global recycling movement varies from country to country as it relates to both policy and profit:

India:

In Dharavi, India, many people make a living by creating their own recycling factories. It is estimated that the self-made recycling industry employs roughly 200,000 people in the country
India recycles roughly 40 percent of their e-waste a year.
Europe:

Austria is by far the leader in this part of the world by recycling roughly 60 percent of its waste
The majority of recycling in the UK is handled by authorities. They institute incentives in order to encourage individuals and businesses to recycle, reduce, and reuse
Japan & China:

In China, recycling isn’t just a citizen responsibility, its become second nature. 2.5 million people are estimated to collect recyclables off the street. These scrap collectors earn the equivalent of $150 a month (about half of what a cab driver earns in that country in the same time frame)
Beijing has built the world’s largest recycling facility and continues to install recycling bins around the city. The city of Beijing hopes to increase their recycling rate from 10% to 80% by 2010