In this article, we are unveiling the best recycling courses in UK you can enroll in. Which will equip you to be effective in the quest to save our environment.
Recycling is generally known as the practice of reusing materials in existing products to create new ones. It is important because without it we would have to produce a whole lot more new materials to meet our needs.
The extraction and processing of the raw materials that go into making the products we buy today is a very energy-intensive process that causes a lot of pollution and disrupts environmental sustainability.
Recycling helps to conserve limited resources, as well as other environmental benefits. For example, reusing existing materials means that fewer new ones have to be produced, which can lower factory emissions, reduce the need for new natural resources, and lower dependence on landfills.
Many different kinds of materials are recyclable. Some materials, including plastic, metal, glass, and paper, are commonly recycled.
Disposing of these recyclable materials is relatively easy they can be deposited for pickup or dropped off at recycling centers.
Special electronics, such as laptops or cell phones, are also recyclable but require special handling because of the potentially dangerous chemicals contained in their batteries.
Given all of its benefits, it is clear how recycling materials can lead to environmental sustainability and allow a circular economy as well.
Recycling has become an increasingly important issue in the United States as both the population and the amount of waste each person generates continues to increase.
According to a study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), municipal solid waste generation increased from 2.68 to 4.34 pounds per person per day between 1960 and 2009.
Collectively, Americans generated about 243 million tons of municipal solid waste in 2009. Over the last several years, however, municipal solid waste generation has decreased, apparently a result of the recent economic recession in the United States.
In as much as overall waste generation has increased, recycling has also become more widely practiced. In 2009, about 61 million tons, or 25% of the municipal solid waste was recovered through recycling.
In 1960, Americans recycled 6.4% of their waste. Recycling has grown as more communities, recognizing the environmental benefits, have made collecting recyclables commonplace.
Businesses that use recyclables as raw materials and an educated public that values recycled products have also contributed to the growth of recycling. Statistics also show that in 2015, about 43.5% of the United Kingdom’s municipal waste was recycled, composted, or broken down by anaerobic digestion.
The majority of recycling undertaken in the United Kingdom is done by statutory authorities, although commercial and industrial waste is mostly processed by private companies.
Local Authorities are responsible for the collection of municipal waste and operate contracts which are usually kerbside collection schemes. The Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 required local authorities in England to provide every household with a separate collection of at least two types of recyclable materials by 2010.
This article provides information on various recycling courses in the UK you can undertake for the acquisition of skill as well as give you more knowledge on recycling and how to go about it.
Table of Contents
10 Best Recycling Courses in UK
- Practical Sustainability
- Introduction to Polyurethanes
- Introduction to Food Contact Materials Products Regulations and Testing
- Introduction to Silicone Elastomers
- Practitioner’s Approach to PU
- Introduction to Plastics Technology
- Understanding Polymer Durability in Critical Applications
- Investigating Failures in Plastic Components
- Recycling of Plastics and Managing Their Environmental Impact
- Introduction to Rubber Technology
1. Practical Sustainability
Recycling is also one of the 6 R’s of sustainability an important framework to become more environmentally conscious and have a more sustainable lifestyle. Sustainability deals with the utilization of resources without compromising the ability of future generations to make use of them.
This course covers a wide variety of modules including:
- Permaculture Design
- Soil and Ecology
- Organic Horticulture
- Green Energy
- Group Dynamics
- Creating Change
- Woodland Management
- Green Building
- Re-localization
- Community Engagement
The course is packed with information, challenging questions, innovative solutions, bold ideas, and collaborative experiences. The curriculum is taught through workshops, talks, activities, field trips, design projects, discussions, and group work by tutors actively engaged with their subjects.
For instance in Shift Bristol over 300 students have been trained in Practical Sustainability Course, affectionately known as the Shifties. Over the years the student network has expanded and evolved into an autonomous, self-organizing, self-celebrating being.
They have organized their socials, events, workshops, and field trips; including everything from welding, to study groups, to hosting film showings, and forming a choir – the ‘Shifty Singers’. It’s impossible to move in the Sustainability circles in the Southwest and not bump into a Shifty.
They can be found on small holdings, farms, community gardens, energy co-ops, in schools, in the NHS working with green social prescribing and mental health services, in the Land-workers Alliance, in the Ecological Land Co-operative, in social centers, heading up children’s gardening clubs, in political campaigning, as permaculture consultants, green building contractors, community composting groups, and much more besides!
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2. Introduction to Polyurethanes
This course will provide a simplified explanation of the manufacture of polyurethanes; the generic chemistry by which they are all formed and how additives are used to achieve the modifications that give us the wide range of properties that make these materials so versatile.
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3. Introduction to Food Contact Materials Products Regulations and Testing
This course will give participants an understanding of how a wide range of polymeric and polymer-based materials (e.g.. Plastics, rubbers, coatings, inks, etc.) are used in an extensive range of food contact products (eg. Packaging, processing equipment, cooking utensils, etc.) and which additives, monomers and other constituents from these materials need to be considered concerning potential migration into food.
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4. Introduction to Silicone Elastomers
The properties and processing of silicone rubbers are often very different from other elastomers. This course is designed to provide an understanding and overview of the main types of silicone rubber currently available and will give a comparison of chemical structure; manufacturers; grades; properties; compounding; processing and applications between each type.
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5. Practitioner’s Approach to Polyurethane
This course provides a comprehensive view of both the constituents of all the various forms of polyurethane available in the market today and the methodology that should be used to make products with optimum properties.
There is a significant amount of chemistry used to explain the many mechanisms in place that help processors to achieve the extraordinary range of forms and properties provided by this chemistry.
6. Introduction to Plastics Technology
This course concentrates on developing a better understanding of plastic materials and processing, therefore avoiding the common causes of product failure as a result of a lack of material knowledge.
It deals with issues such as common manufacturing problems, materials selection, and failure diagnosis and will benefit those new to the plastics industry or others wishing to gain a better understanding of the design and development of new products.
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7. Understanding Polymer Durability in Critical Applications
The role of plastic and rubber materials in engineering applications is becoming more demanding. Lightweighting and metal replacement puts higher stress on polymers.
Extreme temperatures and chemical environments can also have dramatic effects on the long-term behavior of the materials. This course aims to give an overview of the long-term properties of plastics and rubber and how to take account of this behavior in design and testing.
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8. Investigating Failures in Plastic Components
Plastic materials are used in many engineering applications where reliable and consistent performance is critically important. The failure of such materials can often have damaging and expensive consequences.
Therefore, understanding the cause can assist in rectifying the issue, limiting the damage, and avoiding future failures.
This course will provide a basic understanding of plastic materials and their key properties, a grounding in the principles of specification and selection of plastic materials based on service requirements as well as knowledge of how plastic materials and components can fail.
In the introduction to the methodology, the ability to recognize key modes of plastic component failure will be covered.
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9. Recycling of Plastics and Managing Their Environmental Impact
There is an urgent need to reduce the environmental impact of waste plastics and achieve much higher levels of recycling.
This comprehensive course deals with many aspects of plastics recycling, including the regulations affecting it, the existing and novel recovery processes, and the many ways in which recycled plastic can be reused to produce valuable new products.
The course will also cover important issues associated with the impact of plastics on the environment and the measures that will assist the industry to achieve greater levels of sustainability.
Furthermore, it will equip students with the knowledge to understand this complex subject, make informed choices, and make the most of the opportunities existing within the industry.
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10. Introduction to Rubber Technology
Introduction to Rubber Technology covers the fundamental aspects of rubber technology logically, from Material Selection, Compounding, Vulcanisation, and Processing (conversation of raw materials into finished products), through to Mechanical Properties, Environmental Resistance, Testing and Specifications, Evaluation of product failure and finally interactive case study exercises.
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Conclusion
The importance of recycling in the environment can not be overstretched. Hence, the a need for more improvement to see that the environment is conserved.
Through this article, I do hope you have been exposed to courses that will equip you with the necessary knowledge needed to undertake recycling effectively for the preservation and conservation of nature.
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Ahamefula Ascension is a Real Estate Consultant, Data Analyst, and Content writer. He is the founder of Hope Ablaze Foundation and a Graduate of Environmental Management in one of the prestigious colleges in the country. He is obsessed with Reading, Research and Writing.