The provided graph compares the recycling rate in per cent of four types of materials over 19-year period, between 1982 and 2010. Looking at the general perspectives, it is apparent that there is an upward trajectory for all materials. However, some materials such as paper, cardboard, and glass containers experienced more rise and fall compared to aluminium and plastic-based stuff, which increase steadily.
To begin with, paper and cardboard is the easiest material to be recycled. In 1982, the recycling rate was far high in 65 per cent, which was three-halves of glass. It slightly rose to 70 per cent in 1986 before it slipped back to the same level in the next four years. Similar to paper and cardboard, containers made of glass also depleted over the 8-year period to the minimum of 40 per cent. They both surge in 1994 but continuing at different growth in the next 6 years. As paper and cardboard sank at 70 per cent, glasses ability to be recycled, on the other hand, gradually escalated to 60 per cent.
In the contrary, aluminium and plastics started at much lower level than the other two component, about 5 and 3 per cent respectively. The recycling rate of aluminium cans were improving consistently and even exceeding the level of glass containers in 1990, approximately 45 percent. Apart having the similar start as aluminium, plastics seemed to be barely reprocessed to create new products as it merely improves by lower than 8 per cent during the time frame, culminating at 9 per cent in the end of 2010.