What kind of renewable resources can be recycled

Renewable energy comes from sources that will not be used up in our lifetimes, such as the sun and wind. Throughout his presidency, Jimmy Carter pushed for increased use of renewable energy. He even put solar panels on the White House! Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Skip to content. Image Renewable Resources Geothermal power is a form of renewable energy created by powering electrical generators with the heat of the earth and naturally occurring subterranean hot water reservoirs.

Photograph by stockphoto Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary. Also known as hydroelectricity.

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Related Resources. Energy Resources. View Collection. Renewable Energy Explained. Both recyclable and renewable resources will aid in making the planet safer, greener, and better for future generations. Recycling is the practice of transforming waste products into new supplies and products. Renewable resources are resources that have the capability to be naturally and organically replaced in a set time period. With the impending threat of climate change, understanding the difference and spreading awareness about both recyclable and renewable materials for sustainability is essential.

There is a myriad of sustainable materials that are used in everyday life. Timber is an exceptional example of a sustainable material. It is used in the construction industry, furniture industry, as well as many other industries. It is a renewable resource and stores carbon throughout its life cycle. Since timber is both renewable and recyclable, using it in construction can help to lower greenhouse gas emissions and also provide us with an eco-friendly source of construction material.

Although timber is considered by many to be a sustainable material, it does come with numerous environmental problems. Logging the process of cutting down trees for collecting timber can alter the compositions of numerous species , negatively impact the structure of forests, and deplete the nutrients in the soil.

Environmental activists have often debated on the positives and negatives of using timber. While materials like timber are considered by some to be eco-friendly, the logging industry often participates in illegal and non-sustainable logging, which contributes to deforestation. Antonym: non-renewable resource; a resource that is in limited supply and cannot be replaced once it has been extracted and used. For example, perhaps your shirt and jeans are made from cotton, which comes from a plant.

Farmers harvest the cotton crop every year, but the plants grow back and produce more. Cotton, like Incense-cedar trees and all growing plants and trees, are renewable resources!

Bricks, cement, and metals are made from minerals. How about your clothes? Most of your clothing is made from cotton, polyester, or nylon. Cotton comes from cotton plants. Polyester and nylon are made from oil. Plastics are made from oil too. How about your food? People eat grains, fruits, and other parts of plants.

You may also enjoy dairy products and meat from animals. Everything we have or use is made from a natural resource. Which of those mentioned here are renewable? Which are nonrenewable? All natural resources should be used wisely.

We must conserve natural resources. Conserve means to not use up, spoil, or waste things. This is especially true for the nonrenewable resources. However, even some renewable natural resources can run out if they are all killed or overused. We must also protect our natural resources from pollution. Pollution occurs when people put harmful chemicals and other things into nature. Oil spilled in water, toxic chemicals in the air, or garbage dumped on the side of the road are examples of this problem.

You can reduce, reuse, and recycle! For example, turn off the lights when you are not in a room. This will reduce the use of fossil fuel used to make electricity. Ride your bicycle and walk more, to reduce the amount of gasoline used to transport you.

You can reuse things. Things like plastic jugs, jars, paper, and bags can be reused. Each time you reuse something, you conserve the natural resources that would have been used to make new ones. Finally, you can recycle. Recycle means to reuse a natural resource or product to make something new. It also means to collect and send these things for reuse.

Items that can be easily recycled include: glass, some plastics, paper, cardboard, aluminum, and steel. Some plastics and metals are hard to recycle. They are often made from mixtures of materials. Mixtures can be hard to separate. Try to buy and use things that you can recycle. Where does your garbage go when you throw it away?