Global Recycling Day: The Seventh Resource Manifesto

Of the earth’s natural resources, we tend to think of six as the most important – water, air, oil, natural gas, coal and minerals. These resources represent the foundation of our very existence. All our food, all our sustenance, and all our belongings ultimately come from these six elements. Today, humanity can’t survive without them.

However, these resources are finite and rapidly running out. Once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. We are carelessly using the earth’s natural resources without thinking about what will replace them, while billions of tons of waste pour into landfill sites every year.

The simple solution to this is recycling – the ‘Seventh Resource’, which can be used again and again. Recycling helps to:

Combat climate change
• Every year, the Seventh Resource (recyclables) saves over 700 million tonnes in CO2 emissions
• The Seventh Resource offsets all CO2 emissions generated by the aviation industry annually

Boosts local employment around the world
• Approximately 1.6 million people worldwide are employed in processing recyclables
• The annual contribution of the recycling industry towards the global GDP is projected to exceed $400 billion in the next 10 years
• $20 million is invested each year by the industry into job creation, improving recycling efficiency and environmental impact.

Conserve the earth’s six precious primary resources
• Humans have consumed more resources in the last 50 years than in all previous history
• The Seventh Resource (recycled materials) supplies 40% of the world’s raw material need

For more information check out our Recycling: The Seventh Resource Manifesto, which sets out our vision for the Seventh Resource:

Read more on recycling via PlastikMedia here.

Global Recycling Day
Global Recycling Foundation