The Environment |
Environmental Issues facing everyone: |
Climate change is the greatest environmental challenge facing the world today. Rising
global temperatures will bring changes in weather patterns, rising sea levels and increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. The effects will be felt internationally and there may be severe problems for people in regions that are particularly vulnerable
to change. |
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Climate change presents a significant challenge to the international community.
There
are also enormous opportunities if we are willing to take action. |
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Greenhouse effect: |
| Some of the energy from the sun is trapped inside our atmosphere as it is reflected back from the earth towards space. This natural process is called the greenhouse effect due to the atmosphere acting like the glass walls of a greenhouse; it allows the sun's rays to enter but keeps the heat in. |
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| The gases which make this happen ‘greenhouse gases’ are mainly water vapor and carbon dioxide. As humans emit more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere the greenhouse effect becomes stronger. This causes the earth's climate to change unnaturally. |
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| Climate change is one of the most serious environmental threats facing the world today. Its impact will be felt across the world, as sea levels rise threatens the existence of some small island states and puts millions of people at risk. Temperature increases, drought and flooding will affect people's health and way of life, and cause the irreversible loss of many species of plants and animals. |
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Key impacts |
| We need to try to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, there will be experience of climate change which is likely to have effects on the world’s environment, economy and society including: |
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- Rising sea levels
- Flooding in poor countries
- Food shortage and disease
- Severe water shortages
- Loss of tropical forests
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Recycling of waste: |
| Definitions: "waste" is "...any substance or object…which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard." |
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| “Recycle” is “…to pass through a cycle again; repeat a process from the beginning, or to undergo reuse or renewal.” |
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| Contributing to climate change is waste, each year we generate about 100 million tonnes of waste from households, commerce and industry combined. Unfortunately most of this ends in landfill where methane is generated, a powerful greenhouse gas. |
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| Taking action on waste is essential, since we are consuming natural resources at an unsustainable rate and contributing unnecessarily to climate change. |
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| Recycling of plastics, glass, tin, aluminium, paper/card and other materials can be easy, it just takes a little extra thought and time. |
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How to Recycle AF Products |
| Paper |
AF Wipes |
Recycle them along the normal paper recycling routes – our cleaners are water based cleaners and so when the wipes are cleaned in the recycling process any residues should be water soluble |
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| Plastic |
AF Tubs, Pump Spray Bottles,
Flat pack envelopes, caps |
Remove the top, containers must be thoroughly rinsed before recycling. These containers should be recyclable where facilities exist, most local councils collect HDPE and there are many HDPE recycling banks across the UK. Customers must check with their local council/local recycling bank if HDPE is acceptable in their local plastics collection. |
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Aerosols – Aluminum
/ Tin Plate |
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Both aluminium and tin plate steel can be recycled. 75% of local authorities will accept aerosols in their local steel recycling banks.
Remember: DO NOT PIERCE THEM OR SQUASH THEM and only put EMPTY AEROSOLS in the collection schemes. It helps if you can remove any plastic parts that come off easily such as lids |
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| The AF formulations are developed for specific cleaning needs but always with ultimate disposal in mind. With a large research and development department, AF aims to provide high quality products that have excellent cleaning performance to help increase the lifespan of equipment and keep the workplace free from dirt and bacteria. |
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| With operation safety being paramount, non-flammable materials are used throughout the range where possible and in line with AF’s environmental policy. Also wherever we are able the packaging material is recyclable and environmentally friendly. |
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| AF International is a member of the Green Dot Licensing Company, Valpak Ltd. These have a contractual agreement with PRO-Europe to manage the Green Dot® trademark, they are the largest registered compliance scheme under the packaging waste regulations in the UK and PRO-Europe is the umbrella organisation responsible for all Green Dot® systems in Europe. |
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| For further information down load out ‘Work Green’ brochure from this web-site. |
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