Your Questions About Recycling

The Expert answers:

Firstly, that is so awesome that you want to be greener! Good job!

Usually, there are three main recycling bins:
(1) Paper
(2) Glass
(3) Plastic

Just sort out your trash accordingly. When the trash/recycle man comes, you can hand over your recyclable items separately. It makes it easier.

There are also other methods: Reuse and Reduce (which goes with Recycle so they make up the 3Rs… Reuse, Reduce, Recycle).

Reuse means reusing your old stuff. Like my Mom reuses spaghetti sauce bottles to keep her spices, sugar etc. Or you can store other stuff. Don’t throw paper and plastic bags away. Reuse them.

Reduce basically mean cutting down on what you use. For instance if you have a habit of taking 5 paper napkins in Starbucks/McDonald’s, try cutting down to 2 (which I what I’m doing right now, trying to cut down to 1 but it’s a bit hard).

The Expert answers:

At my apartment complex, there is no recycling program, so what we did was to find the closest place to drop off recycling (you could try looking in the phone book, or your state or city might have a website that you could find the information on), and we found out that the drop-off site has 2 different bins, one for plastic/glass/metal and the other for paper/cardboard/paperboard. So, we got 2 containers from IKEA to put the recyclables in, a big one for cans and plastic or glass containers, and a small one for paper. When the bins get full we load them in the suv and take them to the drop-off place. Sure it’s a bit of a hassle, it’d be better if the city would provide recycling to all its residents, not just those who live in houses, but I think it’s worth it!

For pop cans, I just dump the last drips out into the sink, and then twist & crush them with my hands, just to save room in the bin. For food containers, I rinse them enough so that it won’t smell. That’s all you need to do, because they will take care of all of the cleaning and stuff at the place you take the recycling to. You don’t need to take labels off or anything, even.

Here’s the containers we got from IKEA:
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=16198&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=40801&langId=-1&categoryId=15776&chosenPartNumber=90076364

They’re great because they stack and don’t take up much room. I bet you could find them at other stores if you don’t have an IKEA near you.

I’ve really noticed a reduction in the volume of garbage since we started recycling!

I don’t really have many ideas on how to start a recycling program, but you might want to contact your city/town first, they might have ideas or things you would need to consider.

If your workplace is small, with just a few people, you could just convince your boss to get another garbage can especially for pop cans, and another one for paper, and either volunteer to take them to a recycling drop off place yourself, or get someone else to. You could contact the city/town to see about the possibility of getting the recycling picked up, maybe.

Good luck!

The Expert answers:

I think its stupid, i mean come on we even have to crush our own cans aswell, what are we payin these people for if we have got to do there job for them its ridiculous! Not to mention we get reported if we don’t recycle!

The Expert answers:

The US does the worst job recycling than every other industrial country. Very little household waste is recycled and lands up in landfills where it stays for thousands of years.

Communities need to establish strict laws for recycling. First ban all water bottles. Tap water is almost as good, cheaper and stored in reusable containers. Next laws need to enacted that would give refuge collectors the power to write tickets to homes that refuse to obey these laws.

Then every container should have a deposit attached to give people incentive to recycle. Every box, can, bottle, bag, and pouch should be covered by a deposit.

Plastic grocery bags should also be banned.

The Expert answers:

You’re right about trees helping to remove carbon monoxide, but mature trees do the job better than fast growing trees planted in managed forests, specifically for producing huge amounts of pulp.
Then, there is the issue of other flora and fauna that suffer as
mature “natural” trees are over-logged. There is a price to recycling paper, but it is less than not recycling! Actually, burning palletized recycled paper produces 10-20% less carbon than coal!

I’ve gathered numerous resources for you, presenting information on both sides of the argument. Recycling actually DOES make sense! Please read each site for complete information.

“Does recycling seem like an antiquated concept, or at least
something that’s just not important to you? Maybe, maybe not. But consider this: In one year, the energy conserved by the current level of recycling saves enough energy to power nine million households for a year.”

“About 1/3 of the waste stream that goes to landfills is paper, which is a real shame since there is a strong market for recycled paper. Reusing more of our waste paper would help us reduce the acres of forest land that are being clear cut every year to provide paper in its myriad forms.”
http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/10-05/recycler-recycling-article.htm

“Other uses for recycled paper include the use of shredded paper for packaging. This use is often associated with lower quality recovered paper not appropriate for recycling into writing/printing grade paper. The generation of shredded paper has increased in numerous industries and agencies. The advantages of shredding paper for reuse as packaging are decreased costs in alternative packaging media such as Styrofoam peanuts. Shredded paper can also be composted
as opposed to disposed of in landfills (See Data Sheet: 7-III-7 Paper Shredders).
Another recovered paper reuse alternative is in the production of fuel pellets. Lower grade waste paper is pelletized and utilized as a solid fuel source in industrial boilers.

Pelletized paper has similar physical characteristics to conventional
solid fuels, is easily consumed by boilers, and can be produced at competitive costs. The advantages of using pelletized paper fuel include: a new use for discarded paper; reduction in the consumption of non-renewable fossil fuels; paper provides a higher level of heat generation; and because paper contains little sulfur, its co-firing with coal reduces sulfur emissions. Paper also produces 10-20% less carbon than coal.”
http://p2library.nfesc.navy.mil/P2_Opportunity_Handbook/7_I_A_9.html

There are pros and cons to recycling.

The Disadvantages and Costs:

•Contamination of paper with garbage or dissimilar materials, and weather impacts increase handling costs.
•For some uses, recycled paper is of lower quality than virgin paper.
•De-inking plants are costly to build.
•Market value fluctuations make forecasting economic viability difficult.

The Benefits:
•More landfill space is saved by recycling paper, than any other material.
•Paper recycling reduces air and water pollution.
•Recycled paper serves as feed stock for existing and developing
‘recycled-paper’ mills.
•There is an abundant supply of newspaper and cardboard.
•Paper can not be recycled indefinitely but it can be recycled about five times before the fibers weaken.
Http://www.anchoragerecycling.com/benefits.htm

“Still, Breining was curious how much environmental benefit the state was buying for the extra $22,000 his magazine spent on recycled paper. The benefits turned out to be small: sixteen cords of pulpwood — about what you’d get by clear-cutting a single acre of northern Minnesota aspen woods.
Breining grants that paper recycling has other benefits, such as reducing the need for landfills and the pollution caused by
paper-making. Still, he had to question whether spending $22,000 to prevent the clear-cutting of one acre that cost $400 on the open market was a smart use of taxpayer’s and subscribers’ money.”

“This glut of recovered paper is made into everything from paper to boxes to animal bedding. And while the relatively small amount of recycled papers used for writing and printing are struggling with high prices and sluggish demand, the dominant sectors of the market are doing much better.”

“Another strong area is newsprint. About 5.4 million tons of this material, used for newspapers, is recovered each year, generally to make more newsprint. The market is so promising that the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group in New York, is coordinating the development of a large recycling plant in the South
Bronx.”
http://whyfiles.org/063recycle/paper.html

“Reasons for recycling
To recycle makes economic sense because although it may not be cheaper
than ordinary paper:
•by not importing new pulp the UK can save up to 800 million on balance of payments
•it saves on disposal costs such as burying in landfill sites or
burning in incinerators
•it provides employment for a large work force as waste management
including paper collection is a major industry
To recycle makes environmental sense because it
•reduces pressure for landfill sites
•reduces pressure on natural forests by encouraging planting of managed commercial plantations

Generally speaking the production of recycled paper has less overall environmental impact than producing paper using all new material, when all production activities are taken into account. Recycled paper production does use less energy, less water and creates less pollution. However substantial upgrading of low quality waste, could mean that the environmental advantages of recycling are reduced
or lost.”
http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk/campaigns/briefingsmore/paperrecycling.htm

“Benefits of Recycling Paper:
Save Money: Recycling services can be cheaper than trash disposal services in many cases. Paper is usually the largest portion of the waste stream in a business office. By separating your paper from your trash your company may save money in trash disposal costs.

Divert Material from Disposal: Keeping paper out of the waste stream will save landfill space and reduced pollution through avoided incineration.
Conserve Natural Resources: By substituting old paper to be used in place of trees, recycling reduces the pressure to cut down trees.
Save Energy: The steps in supplying recycled materials to industry (including collection, processing and transportation) typically use less energy than the steps in supplying virgin materials to industry (including extraction, refinement, transportation, and processing). But, most energy savings associated with recycling accrue in the manufacturing process itself, since recycled materials have already been processed at least once.

Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions: By reducing the amount of energy used by industry, recycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions that may lead to global warming. Energy used in the industrial processes and in transportation involves burning fossil fuels like gasoline, diesel and coal1.
Facts & Figures:
•To make one ton of paper using recycled fiber saves the following:

17 trees
3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
360 gallons of water
100 gallons of gasoline
60 pounds of air pollutants
10,401 kilowatts of electricity
(source: United States Environmental Protection Agency)

•Nearly 218,000 tons of shredded paper is used each year for animal
bedding. (source: American Forest & Paper Association)
•Recycling paper uses 60% less energy than manufacturing paper from virgin timber. (source: Environmental Protection Agency)
•Recycling office waste paper saves valuable landfill space – 3 cubic yards for every ton of paper recycled – and extends the lives of our landfills. (source: National Office Paper Recycling Project, The United States Conference of Mayors)
http://www.wastecap.org/wastecap/commodities/paper/paper.htm#Benefits%20paper

“The current average price paid for loose corrugated delivered to a recycling center in the New York region is $38.00 per ton, while the current average price paid for sorted office paper is $55.00 per ton.
Sorted white ledger is currently valued at $115.00 per ton. (Source: Waste News) Of course, it is understood that there are costs associated with collecting and transporting these materials. These costs, however, are offset by the revenue earned on the materials collected plus the savings resulting from not having to dispose of this material as solid waste. Unfortunately, the avoided cost of disposal is often left out of the recycling cost equation. This is especially significant since solid waste disposal costs continue to rise.”

“Recycling corrugated cardboard, office paper and other materials also makes economic sense on the macro-economic level as these activities create many jobs and add significantly to the state and national economy. According to the National Recycling Coalition, the recycling
industry is comparable in size to the auto and truck manufacturing industry and employs more than 1.1 million people.”
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dshw/recycle/Winter05.pdf

“Recycling Saves Landfill Space.
Americans are producing more waste with each passing year, most of which is hauled off and buried in landfills. What’s wrong with that? Well, it’s expensive and usually controversial to dig new landfills or to build new incinerators. Recycling is one way to reduce the amount of waste that is landfilled.
Recycling Can Reduce the Cost of Waste Disposal.

Getting rid of trash isn’t a free proposition. Garbage trucks must pay to dump their waste at a landfill. The payment is called a tipping fee, and it is based on the weight or volume of the garbage. Tipping fees vary in different areas. In Vermont, one landfill charges about $65 a ton for the waste it receives. Recycling reduces landfill costs because less waste is landfilled. In 2003, recycling and composting
diverted 72 million tons of material from landfills.”
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/saving/recycling/solidwaste/recycling.html

“RECYCLING IS BECOMING CHEAPER THAN WASTE EXPORT
Meanwhile, the fiscal outlook is improving for that portion of the waste stream that is or could be recycled.

Newspapers, magazines, cardboard, junk mail, and other paper products make up the single largest portion of the city’s residential waste stream. And for this commodity, the economic benefits of recycling are readily apparent.
New York City is paid for every ton of paper it delivers to recyclers. For example, the Visy Paper Recycling Plant on Staten Island takes about a third of the city’s recycled paper waste from the Department of Sanitation. The Visy plant de-inks these paper products and turns them into paper used to make corrogated boxes and other products. On average, the city is paid $7 a ton for paper sent to Visy and other
paper recyclers. In contrast to paying $66 or more per ton for trash export, New York City benefits economically from every ton of paper it recycles.”
http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/environment/20030411/7/345

“Every year more than 11 million tonnes of paper and board are consumed in the UK [1]. Much of this comes from Scandinavia. In order to satisfy our increasing demand for wood and paper products, the majority of the natural boreal forest in Scandinavia has been converted into intensively managed secondary forest or plantations, where the inhabitants of a true and complex forest eco-system struggle
to survive.

About 5% of Scandinavian old-growth forest remains, and yet this is still being logged [2]. As a result, hundreds of plant and animal species are endangered. The traditional way of life of indigenous people, such as the Saami, is also threatened and their cultural identity is in jeopardy.”
“Energy is needed to manufacture both virgin paper and recycled paper but much less total energy is needed to produce recycled paper [5]. Industry quotes for typical energy savings from producing recycled paper range from about 28%-70%[6]. The amount of energy saved will
depend on paper grade, processing, mill operation and proximity to a waste paper source and markets. Moreover, technical improvements to reduce energy use are possible by introducing incremental design improvements at each step of the papermaking process[7].”

“The energy debate has tended to be very narrow. The forest products industry generally excludes, in its analysis, the fuel used in forest management e.g. In drilling, seeding, harvesting, transport of timber to the pulp mill and the pulp to distribution points. The proportion of energy needs met by biofuels will vary from country to country, pulping process and timber used.”
http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/paper_recycling.html

Consequences of excessive logging and replanting with “super-pulp” trees:
“Where once grew some of the most biologically rich hardwood forest in North America’s Temperate Zone (which extends from the Gulf of Mexico to southern Canada), there are now row after row of fast-growing loblolly pine trees genetically engineered to yield the most pulp in the shortest time. But the paper industry’s insatiable appetite for
timber has met with unexpected competition from an equally voracious insect. In the last four years, an estimated 50 to 70 percent of the pines planted on the plateau have been devoured by the southern pine beetle.

“The cozy relationship that exists between Tennessee’s public and private sectors, and the impunity and magnitude of the environmental destruction taking place on the plateau, are what you might expect in Guatemala or deep in the Brazilian Amazon, not in our republic, where there are supposed to be laws that protect our wilderness treasures and prosecute conflicts of interest. But a quarter of the world’s
paper and 60 percent of America’s wood products are being produced in the South, and the will to address the abuses of the paper industry, which contributes millions of dollars to the campaign coffers of politicians around the country, just isn’t there — certainly not in Tennessee.” Pease see this site for further information.
Http://www.nrdc.org/onearth/04win/cumberland1.asp

“Genetic engineering of food crops has been a stealth technology, introduced with little public debate and arriving on grocery shelves unlabeled. Now another application of genetically engineered (GE) agriculture is sneaking up on us – the production of transgenic trees by paper and lumber companies. The possibility that the new genes spliced into GE trees will interfere with natural forests isn’t a hypothetical risk but a certainty.

During our lives, genetic engineering may do as much damage to forests and wildlife habitat as chain saws and sprawl. This is not to say that every application of GE is bad. Sierra Club has taken no positions regarding genetic engineering done in labs or in indoor manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. But common sense should warn us that commercial development of out-of-doors applications in
the absence of environmental safeguards is a prescription for
disaster. Sierra Club opposes the out-of-doors deployment of genetic technologies because the genes are free – as free as pollen on the wind – to invade nature, and because once this has happened they can’t be recalled. The arguments below are not intended to be inclusive but only to illustrate the nature of the problem.”

“For instance, GE’d pines might be grown without all those “useless” pine cones. They may be herbicide resistant so that competing undergrowth can be eliminated. They may produce their own pesticides so that many of the insects which live in association with trees are poisoned.

The result, then, may be a silent forest, one which doesn’t support chipmunks or snakes at ground level, holds no birdsong in its branches, has no raptors soaring above. Clearly, such a stand of trees is not really a forest. And worse, the damage can’t be confined to private property as trees live for many years and can’t be closely observed; “birth control” among trees is less reliable than among people and even genetic engineering can’t guarantee that a branch won’t decide to manufacture pollen. Pine pollen can blow hundreds of miles on the wind.”
http://www.sierraclub.org/biotech/trees.asp

“But even though it is true that marketing recyclables can actually cost money, this charge is still lower than the fees charged at the landfill for dumping these materials. For example, although a municipality might be paying $25.00 to recycle a ton of newspaper, that same ton in the landfill would cost well over $100.00. This is a savings known as “Cost Avoidance”. Add in the environmental benefits such as reduced pollution and conservation of resources, as well as
saving landfill space for other, non-recyclable materials and
recycling is the clear winner.”
http://www.passaiccountynj.org/Departments/naturalresources/recproco.htm

The American Forest and Paper Association “Recycling -In 2005, a record 51.5 percent of the paper consumed in the U.S. (51.3 million tons) was recovered for recycling. Paper recovery now averages 346 pounds for each man, woman and child in the United States.

While this is a significant accomplishment, we can do more. Our goal is 55 percent recovery by 2012.”
http://www.afandpa.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Environment_and_Recycling/Recycling/Recycling.htm

• The world has lost nearly 200 million hectares of tree cover;
• Deserts are being expanded by some 120 million hectares;
• Thousands of plant and animal species are disappearing quickly
http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~career/PRC/destruct.html

“Waste Paper Recycling
The benefits derived from recycling waste paper are:
•reduced water pollution of up to 35%
•reduced air pollution of up to 74%
•reduced energy consumption of 24-54%
•reduced harvesting of virgin forests
•reduced number of trees for paper making being grown in areas where
they cause damage
•17 small trees saved / tonne of paper recycled
http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~career/PRC/benefits.html

“Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by Massachusetts recycling:
By reducing the amount of energy used by industry, recycling also reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps stem the dangers of global climate change. This reduction occurs because much of the energy used in industrial processes and in transportation involves burning fossil fuels like gasoline, diesel and coal – the most important sources of carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions into the environment.

•Massachusetts recycling reduced greenhouse gas emission by 1,701,604 metric tons of carbon equivalents in 2002, which is equivalent to approximately 8.1% of greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perflurocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
• Every ton of newsprint or mixed paper recycled is the equivalent of12 trees. Every ton of office paper recycled is the equivalent of 24 trees.2
•• By recycling 1,365,432 tons of mixed paper, newsprint, and phone books in 2002, Massachusetts reduced the need to cut 16,385,184 trees. On average, a live trees removes 60 pounds per year of air pollution from the environment.
Http://www.massrecycle.org/recycling_benefits.html#saves_environment

“Each ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy and 7,000 gallons of water! Americans use more than 67 million tons of paper per year, or about 580 pounds per person.

Paper products make up the largest part (approximately 40 percent) of our trash. Making recycled paper instead of new paper uses 64 percent less energy and uses 58 percent less water.

Every day American businesses generate enough paper to circle the earth 20 times! Every day Americans recover more than 2 million pounds of paper! That’s about 40 percent of the paper we use.

Paper products use up at least 35 percent of the world’s annual commercial wood harvest.
Http://www.resourcefulschools.org/html/facts.html

“So does paper recycling save energy? Yes it does, although the energy savings are not as spectacular as they are with aluminum and steel recycling.
A paper mill uses 40 percent less energy to make paper from recycled paper than it does to make paper from fresh lumber. However, a recycling mill may consume more fossil fuels than a paper mill. Paper mills generate much of their energy from waste wood, but recycling mills purchase most of their energy from local power companies or use on-site cogeneration facilities.

Making recycled paper does require fewer chemicals and bleaches than making all-new paper. Although recycled paper is less polluting than paper made from wood fiber, both processes produce different by-products. Paper mills may emit more sulfur dioxide, but recycling mills may produce more sludge. Deinking at Cross Pointe’s Miami, Ohio
mill results in 22 pounds of sludge for every 100 pounds of wastepaper recycled.

Paper recycling does mean fewer trees are used to make paper, but all-new paper is almost always made from trees specifically grown for papermaking. A tree harvested for papermaking is soon replaced by another, so the cycle continues. We are not talking about the rain forest or old growth in the Pacific Northwest, says Champion Paper’s
Martin Blick. Most of the trees cut for paper come from fifth or sixth generation pulp-wood forests.” Note that this last comment comes from the paper industry.
Http://www.eia.doe.gov/

Interesting Facts
==================
Every ton of newsprint or mixed paper recycled saves the equivalent of cutting down 17 trees to make paper.
NRC’s Environmental Benefits Calculator

A single corrugated box can be recycled up to eight times.
Scrap Magazine, November-December 2001
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:7tIeFR-yKD4J:www.swmcb.org/files/rethinkrecycling_paper_recycling_benefits.doc+paper+recycling+benefits&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=16

Further Information
===================
Recycling saves energy
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/DEPUTATE/AIRWASTE/WM/RECYCLE/document/recyclingworks.pdf

Paper Recycling
http://www.paperrecycles.org/paper_everyday_wonder/index.html

The Expert answers:

I’m for reducing consumption of natural resources of the earth, diverting as much recyclables from the landfill, and creating jobs.

When recycling a product that takes more energy/resources(i.e., fuel) than the creating a new product, you’ll have more people against it. Certain recyclable products, such as green glass, take more energy/resource to recycle it back to green glass and therefore it should find an alternative way to be either reused or recycled into another material. Green glass can than be used in repaving roads, as one example.

The cost to get rid of your recyclables, depending on how much a hauler charges, could deter people from recycling also. Some people will also just disagree with the thought of recycling because on some level they think its not the way to go.

The Expert answers:

It is helping the environment and there are so many benefits that our mother earth can get.

Recycling saves energy and resources.
Examples are the following

1.) For every ton of paper made from recycled materials saves 17 trees, 6.953 gallons of water, 463 gallons of oil, 587 pounds of air pollution, 3.06 cubic yards of landfill space, and 4,077 kilowatt hours of energy.

2.)In one year, recycling allows aluminum companies to save the equivalent of more than 19 million barrels of oil – enough energy to supply electricity to about 18 million households for a year.

3.)Recycling one glass bottle or jar saves enough electricity to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours.

4.)Recycling one pound of steel can power a 60-watt light bulb for more than a day.

5.)Recycling one ton of plastic saves the equivalent of 1,000 – 2,000 gallons of gasoline.

Recycling Decreases Pollution
Examples are the following

1.) Making cars from recycling aluminum decreases related air
pollution by 95 percent.

2.) Making recycled paper generates 74 percent less air pollution and 35 percent less water pollution, and uses 64 percent less energy than making paper from virgin timber.

Recycling decreases tree cutting
1.) If all morning newspapers in the US were recycled for one day, the equivalent of 41,000 trees would be saved and 6 million tons of waste would never end up in landfills.

2.)Every person in the US receives junk mail that represents the equivalent of 1-1/2 trees a year. If only 100,000 people stopped their junk mail, as many as 150,000 trees annually would not be cut down for paper productions. (One tree can filter up to 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year). To remove your name from junk mail lists, contact:

Recycling reduces reliance on imported oil

1.) Motor oil never wears out, it just gets dirty. Oil can be recycled, re-refined, and used again, reducing our reliance on imported oil.
Recycling reduces our reliance on landfills

Recycling reduces our reliance on landfills

1.) In the year 2001, Hamilton County residents diverted 35,900 tons of material from the landfill by recycling at home.

2.) Recycling creates jobs and economic development:

** The recycling industry supports 4.3% of the jobs in Ohio.Recycling supports 3,177 business establishments in Ohio, employing 98,302 people.
**The average wage paid by Ohio’s recycling industry is $36,600.00.
Ohio’s recycling industry annual sales reached $22.5 billion.

The Expert answers:

Aslam-o-Alikum,
How are you sister? I Hope this link helps:

http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/21/Wastewater-Treatment-Plant-Operator.html

I hope I helped

The Expert answers:

Simply put, recycling is reusing the material from which a given product was made. It is different from reusing because recycling focuses on the material itself rather than the prior item. Recycling is a process of turning an item’s material into a form that can be used again for the same item or something else.

Benefits of recycling include:

Less stress on landfills.

Less energy going into mining.

Business opportunities and the creation of jobs.

Getting more out of a single material.

Well-designed and efficient recycling programs cost less than original production.

It helps save money for families, companies, and communities when efficient.

Recycling creates four jobs for every one job created in the waste management and disposal industries.

Recycling and composting diverted nearly 70 million tons of material away from landfills and incinerators in 2000, up from 34 million tons in 1990-doubling in just 10 years.

Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees.

The energy we save when we recycle one glass bottle is enough to light a light bulb for four hours.

Recycling benefits the air and water by creating a net reduction in ten major categories of air pollutants and eight major categories of water pollutants.

In the U.S., processing minerals contributes almost half of all reported toxic emissions from industry, sending 1.5 million tons of pollution into the air and water each year. Recycling can significantly reduce these emissions.

It is important to reduce our reliance on foreign oil. Recycling helps us do that by saving energy.
Manufacturing with recycled materials, with very few exceptions, saves energy and water and produces less air and water pollution than manufacturing with virgin materials.

It takes 95% less energy to recycle aluminum than it does to make it from raw materials. Making recycled steel saves 60%, recycled newspaper 40%, recycled plastics 70%, and recycled glass 40%. These savings far outweigh the energy created as by-products of incineration and landfilling.

In 2000, recycling resulted in an annual energy savings equal to the amount of energy used in 6 million homes (over 660 trillion BTUs). In 2005, recycling is conservatively projected to save the amount of energy used in 9 million homes (900 trillion BTUs).

A national recycling rate of 30% reduces greenhouse gas emissions as much as removing nearly 25 million cars from the road.

Recycling conserves natural resources, such as timber, water, and minerals.

Every bit of recycling makes a difference. For example, one year of recycling on just one college campus, Stanford University, saved the equivalent of 33,913 trees and the need for 636 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone.

Recycled paper supplies more than 37% of the raw materials used to make new paper products in the U.S. Without recycling, this material would come from trees. Every ton of newsprint or mixed paper recycled is the equivalent of 12 trees. Every ton of office paper recycled is the equivalent of 24 trees.

When one ton of steel is recycled, 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone are conserved.

Brutal wars over natural resources, including timber and minerals, have killed or displaced more than 20 million people and are raising at least $12 billion a year for rebels, warlords, and repressive governments. Recycling eases the demand for the resources.

Mining is the world’s most deadly occupation. On average, 40 mine workers are killed on the job each day, and many more are injured. Recycling reduces the need for mining.

Tree farms and reclaimed mines are not ecologically equivalent to natural forests and ecosystems.

Recycling prevents habitat destruction, loss of biodiversity, and soil erosion associated with logging and mining.