If you know Take My Scrap Car, you’ll know we have a bit of an obsession with recycling. Vehicle scrapping and recycling is of course our thing, but we like to think we’re playing a small part in the bigger picture.

The simple fact of the matter is that while we all know how important and beneficial responsible recycling is, few of us are actually doing our ‘bit’ as well as we could be. Which is why along with touting the benefits of car recycling, we think it’s important to visit the general recycling picture in the UK from time to time as a reminder.

Here’s a quick rundown of a few eye-opening facts on the current state of recycling in the UK:  a-few-eye-opening-facts-about-everyday-recycling

  1. On the whole, UK households produce somewhere in the region of 30 million tons of waste every single year.
  2. Of all the waste collected each year in the United Kingdom, somewhere in the region of 18% is taken away for recycling purposes. Considering the fact that some EU countries are now recycling a full 50% of total household waste, it’s clear that the UK still has a long way to go.
  3. Just a single recycled food item can save the equivalent energy it would take to run a TV for up to three hours.
  4. The energy saved by recycling one glass bottle would be more than enough to power a desktop PC for up to half an hour.
  5. Even a single recycled plastic bottle saves sufficient power to run a 60-watt bulb for up to three hours.
  6. Recycling paper uses up to 70% less energy than is required to produce new paper. And of course, it also doesn’t require any trees to be chopped down and processed.
  7. Despite the fact that the United Kingdom generally only recycles around 18% of household waste, research has shown that approximately 60% of everything that goes in the bin has the potential to be recycled.
  8. Each year, the average household by failing to recycle as much waste as possible wastes enough energy to operate a television for more than 5,000 hours.
  9. If all of the waste the UK generates was to be brought together, it would take less than 8 months for it to fill the biggest lake in the country.
  10. It is estimated that between 15% and 20% of the price of the average supermarket product goes directly on packaging – all of which usually finds its way straight into the bin.
  • In the average household, somewhere in the region of 50% of everything that goes into the dustbin could in fact be used to make compost.
  1. Approximately 80% of everything that goes into the average vehicle can be recycled.
  2. As we ourselves routinely proclaim, 90% of people across the UK say that they would happily recycle more and do a bigger ‘bit’ for the environment, if only it wasn’t so difficult or expensive to do so.

Stay tuned for more fast facts and figures from Take My Scrap Car, coming soon.