How is reclamation different from recycling?

Reclamation is a form of recyling.

Reuse, reduce, recycle—the mantra of the green movement.

But how is it different from other types or recycling?

It is a form of reuse. It is not primarily an attempt to reduce the amount of material you throw out, nor is it a tearing up and recycling of materials (plastic bottles become flooring, etc).

My understanding of reclamation is that is is refurbishing something so you can continue to use it. If you are thinking of something different, then reclamation might fit in a different category.

Reclamation usually refers to architectural features, ie stuff like fire places or bathroom fittings that have been pulled out of a building before it was demolished. They normally have some redeeming feature other than just exisiting, for example a nice Victorian fireplace would be reclaimed while an 80’s era factory made one would probably no be.

With the growing impact of LEED 1 certification in construction, reclamation now includes the removal and reuse of many building materials. The idea is to reduce the amount of building materials going into landfills.

1 see the web site of the US Green Building Council for more info on LEED

The first thing I always think of is reclaimed wood. Like using old barn siding to make flooring, old beams in a new house, etc. Recycling usually indicates the stuff will be broken down and made into something altogether new.

Out here, where there are many many acres of old bentonite pits, reclaimation is a great word and a good example of it’s description.

When the bentonite is mined, the top (productive) soil was removed first, then, consequentially buried by the underlying layers which are mostly sterile earth. After the bentonite is removed, what is left is a huge hole in the ground that is sterile and nearly waterproof, surrounded by the removed earth mounds that are also sterile. Good prairie land was converted into useless muck by mining. When reclaimation became law, the companies that had profited by the rape had to “reclaim” the land. In order to reclaim the land it was necessary to put it back the way it was or better. Guess that would be my definition of “reclaim” “To renew anything to it’s former glory or better”

To recycle is not to put it back the way it was, to recycle is to find a new use for something that has outlived it’s usefulness doing what it was designed for.

Hope this helps clairify