Newspaper is remanufactured into a variety of materials such as insulation, paper tubes and packaging. PETE is used for polyester clothing, carPETEing and roofing materials. HDPE is used to make irrigation pipe and drainage tiles. Glass is used to make new containers and fiberglass. Aluminum cans are used to make new cans.
Steel is used to make new steel products.
That recycling should be free. Although people are making the right choice when they recycle, their recyclables still need to be collected by special vehicles, processed at facilities that cost millions of dollars to build and transported to markets that are as far away as Asia. All of this requires equipment and labor, which translates into cost. Some recyclables, such as aluminum, have a high enough market value to generate enough revenue to cover the cost of collection, processing and marketing. Other recyclables, such as paper and glass, are of such little value that they may actually cost the waste hauler more to collect, process and transport than they receive from selling the materials.