interesting facts about recycling

INTERESTINGFACTSABOUTRECYCLING:

On average, each one of us produces 4.4 pounds of solidwaste each day. The average person, yearly,throwsawayabout1tonofgarbageeach.2,000poundsoftrashforeachperson,canyouimaginethatpiled in your back yard.No, of course not, the trash gets taken away to be buried in landfills. That isanotherproblem.Wearerunningoutoflandfills.Wheretoputthetrash?

Atypicalfamilyconsumes182gallonsofsoda,29gallonsofjuice,104gallonsofmilk,and26gallonsofbottledwaterayear.That'salotofcontainers‐‐makesurethey'rerecycled!

Almostanymaterialcanberecycled insomeway.Themostpopular itemsthatarerecycledarepaper,plastic,metals,andglass.

One reasonwe should all agree on for recycling is to conserve our resources for the future. Anotherimportantreasonistosaveenergy.CanyouimaginealifewithoutTVoradryerthatmakesyourclothessosoftandfluffy?

Recyclingalsolimitsgasemissionsthatarecausingthe Greenhouseeffect.

Bychangingoneofyourlightbulbstoaqualifiedenergysavinglightbulb,wecanconservetheenergytolight3millionhomesforuptoayear.Thatalsosaves$600milliondollarsinyearlyenergybills.Notonlythat,but,theequivalentto800,000carsgasemissionswillbeeliminated.Justonelightbulbcanmakeahugedifference.

RecyclingFacts/Water

Arunningfaucetwastes2.5gallonsofwatereachminute. Runningyourfaucetfor5minutesusesupenoughenergytoruna60wattlightbulbfor14hours.

Adishwasheruses11gallonsofwaterperuse. 75percentofallwaterusedinthehouseholdisusedinthebathroom.

A toiletmade in 1992 or earlier uses up to 60 percentmorewater per flush than newer high

efficiencytoilets. Turningoffthetapwhilebrushingyourteethinthemorningandbeforebedtimescansaveupto8

gallonsperday.Thisisasavingsof240gallonspermonth. Afullbathtubuses70gallonsofwater.A5minuteshoweronlyuses10‐25gallons.

RecyclingFacts/Paper

Allthosemagazines,newspapers,andboxes,madefromcardboardandpaper,arethemostthrownawaymaterial.Thesematerialscanbebrokendowntoberemadeintonewpaperproducts.

DuringWorldWarIIwhenrawmaterialswerescarce,33%ofallpaperwasrecycled.Afterthewar,thisnumberdecreasedsharply.

Ifyouhada15‐year‐oldtreeandmadeitintopapergrocerybags,you'dgetabout700ofthem.Asupermarketcouldusealloftheminunderanhour!Thismeansinoneyear,onesupermarketgoesthrough60,500,000paperbags!ImaginehowmanysupermarketsthereareintheU.S.!!!

TheaverageAmericanusesseventreesayearinpaper,wood,andotherproductsmadefromtrees.Thisamountstoabout2,000,000,000treesperyear!

Theamountofwoodandpaperwethrowawayeachyearisenoughtoheat50,000,000homesfor20years.

Whenyousmelladump,whatyouactuallysmellisthepaperinthedump!

Approximately1billiontreesworthofpaperarethrownawayeveryyearintheU.S.

Americansuse85,000,000tonsofpaperayear;about680poundsperperson.

Theaveragehouseholdthrowsaway13,000separatepiecesofpapereachyear.

Mostispackagingandjunkmail.

In1993,U.S.paperrecoverysavedmorethan90,000,000cubicyardsoflandfillspace.

In1993,nearly36,000,000tonsofpaperwasrecoveredintheU.S.‐‐twiceasmuchin1980.

27%ofthenewspapersproducedinAmericaarerecycled.

Eachton(2000pounds)ofrecycledpapercansave17trees,380gallonsofoil,threecubicyardsof

landfillspace,4000kilowattsofenergy,and7000gallonsofwater.Thisrepresentsa64%energysavings,a58%watersavings,and60poundslessofairpollution!

The17treessaved(above)canabsorbatotalof250poundsofcarbondioxidefromtheaireachyear.

Burningthatsametonofpaperwouldcreate1500poundsofcarbondioxide.

Theconstructioncostsofapapermilldesignedtousewastepaperis50to80%lessthanthecostofamillusingnewpulp.

37percentofourgarbageiscomprisedofpaperproducts.

50milliontonsofpaperisusedeachyear.Savethetrees! Recycling1tonofpaperproductssaves17maturetrees(anacreoftrees),7,000gallonsofwater,

3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, and 4000 kilowatt hours of electricity. This isenoughenergytopowertheaverageAmericanhomefor5months.

InAmericapeoplewhoworkinofficesthrowawayenoughpapertobuilda12feethigh,wallthat

couldconnectNewYorkCitytoLosAngelesCity. Alittlemorethan48percentofallofficepaperisrecycled.Thisisusedtomakewritingpapers,

paperboard,tissue,andinsulation. Theprocessofrecyclingpaperinsteadofmakingitfromnewmaterialsgenerates74percentless

airpollutionanduses50percentlesswater. Manufacturing recycled paper uses 60 percent of the energy needed tomake paper from new

materials.

Over73percentofallnewspapersarerecoveredforrecycling.About33percentofthisisusedto

makenewsprinttherestisusedtomakepaperboard,tissue,orinsulation.

GlassRecyclingFacts

Everymonth,wethrowoutenoughglassbottlesandjarstofillupagiantskyscraper.Allofthesejarsarerecyclable!

The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100‐watt light bulb for four hours or acompactfluorescentbulbfor20hours.Italsocauses20%lessairpollutionand50%lesswaterpollutionthanwhenanewbottleismadefromrawmaterials.

Amodernglassbottlewouldtake4000yearsormoretodecompose‐‐andevenlongerifit'sinalandfill.

Mining and transporting rawmaterials for glass produces about 385pounds ofwaste for every ton ofglassthatismade.Ifrecycledglassissubstitutedforhalfoftherawmaterials,thewasteiscutbymorethan80%.

Wearenotrecyclingenoughofourglass.Onlyaboutone‐quarterofglassisrecycled.Theremaynotbeenoughrecyclerswhowanttomaketheefforttomeltdowntheglasstobereused.Differentcolorglasseshave to be separated in order to be melted down and reused for new products. We need to raiseawarenessthatrecyclingglasscanopenawholenewfieldofopportunities.

TheamountofglassjarsandbottlesrecycledintheUnitedStatesforayear,whenlinedupcanreachtheMoonandcomehalfwaybacktoEarth.

Glasscanberecycledaninfinitenumberoftimes.

RecyclingFacts/Metal

Metalsareverycostlytoproduceandaretheworld’smostrecycledmaterial.Steelisthemostrecycledmetal. Scrapesof steelandsteel cansaresent to recyclingcenters tobemelteddownandpurified forrestructuring.

6.5milliontonsofcarbonsbyemissionsareeliminatedwhen7milliontonsofmetalsarerecycled.It’slikeremoving5millioncarsofftheroadsforayear.

A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days.

UsedbeveragecansarethemostrecycledaluminumitemintheU.S.,butothertypesofaluminum,suchassiding,gutters,carcomponents,stormwindowframes,andlawnfurniturecanalsoberecycled.

RecyclingonealuminumcansavesenoughenergytorunaTVforthreehours‐‐ortheequivalentofahalfagallonofgasoline.

Morealuminumgoesintobeveragecansthananyotherproduct.

Becausesomanyof themare recycled,aluminumcansaccount for less than1%of the totalU.S.wastestream,accordingtoEPAestimates.

Aluminumcanmanufacturershavebeenmakingcanslighter‐‐in1972eachpoundofaluminumproduced22cans;todayityields29cans.

An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be an aluminum can 500 years from now! 

Thereisnolimittotheamountoftimesanaluminumcanberecycled.

Weuseover80,000,000,000aluminumsodacanseveryyear.

Anestimated80,000,000Hershey'sKissesarewrappedeachday,usingenoughaluminum foil to coverover50acresofspace ‐‐ that'salmost40 football fields.All that foil isrecyclable,butnotmanypeople

realizeit. 

Atonetime,aluminumwasmorevaluablethangold!

A60‐watt lightbulbcanbe run foroveradayon theamountofenergysavedby recycling1poundofsteel. In one year in the United States, the recycling of steel saves enough energy to heat and light18,000,000homes!

Americansthrowawayenoughaluminumeverymonthtorebuildourentirecommercialairfleet.

Whenyouthrowawayanaluminumcanyouwasteasmuchenergyasifyou’dfilledthecanhalffullofgasolineandpoureditintotheground.

95%ofenergythatisusedtoproducecansfromvirginore,canbesavedbyrecyclingaluminumcans.

Recycling steel and tin cans saves 74 percent of the energy used to make them. 

Everytonofrecycledsteelsaves2,500poundsofironore,1,000ofcoal,and40poundsoflimestone.

Americans throw out enough iron and steel to continuously supply all the automakers in the entirenation.

A steelmill using recycled scrap reduceswaterpollution, air pollution, andminingwastebyabout70percent.

Tinisanothermetalthathasgreatvalue.Didyouknowthattin,whenrecycled,issopureitcanbeused

asStannousFluoride.

Americansuse100milliontinandsteelcanseachday.

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a 100watt light bulb for 20hours,acomputerfor3hours,andaTVfor2hours.

RecyclingFacts/Plastic

Plasticisabigissue.Therearesevendifferenttypesofplastics.Threeofthesetypesofplasticsareabletobeusedforrecycling.Therecyclingprocessforplasticcanbetricky.Somecanonlybemadeintoonekindofaproducttobereused.Somecannotbemixedorwillnotberecyclable.

Wearenotnearlyrecyclingenoughplastic.Thisisduetothelackofsupporttotagourplasticproductswiththenumbers1‐7sorecyclerswillknowwhatkindofplasticitis.Look for symbols 2, 4, and 5, as these 

plastics are considered to be safest. These are the plastics to look for in terms of human and animal consumption. 

Juiceandsodacontainersthataremadefromplasticcanberecycledtomakematerialforaninsulationproductusedtofillthatwarmjacketyouwearandthesleepingbagsweusewhenwecamp,also,carpets,brushes,sponges,partsforautomobiles(pads),andeventennisballs.

Every year the number of recycling businesses grow, there are over 17,000 plastic recycling centerswaitingforyourplastics.

Thisnewfieldofrecyclingplasticproductsaloneproducesmorethan52,000jobsforAmericans.Thinkwhatitcoulddoforyourcommunities.Getinvolved.

Recycling can be fun and plastic is everywhere. You’ll find it in detergent bottles, milk and watercontainers,trashcans,combs;theproductsofplasticareendless.

Didyouknowthatthereareotherthingsthatcanberecycled?Clothingandtextilesarealsosuitableforrecycling.Onlyabout12percentofthesekindsofmaterialsarerecycled.7milliontonsofclothingandtextiles are discarded. All of thesematerials can be reused andmade into new products formattressfilling,absorbingproducts(sponges),wadding,andfeltthatisusedtocreatefiberforclothing.

Americansuse2,500,000plasticbottleseveryhour!Mostofthemarethrownaway!

Plasticbagsandotherplasticgarbagethrownintotheoceankillasmanyas1,000,000seacreatureseveryyear!

Recyclingplasticsavestwiceasmuchenergyasburningitinanincinerator.

Americansthrowaway25,000,000,000Styrofoamcupseveryyear.

EnoughplasticisproducedintheUnitedStateseachyeartoshrinkwrapTexas.

In1998Americansused2billionpoundsofHDPE(High‐density polyethylene)tomakeplasticbottlesforhouseholdproducts.That’stheequivalentweightof90,000Hondacivics.

Approximately88percentoftheenergyissavedwhenplasticismadefromplasticratherthanfromtherawmaterialsofgasandoil.

EnoughplasticbottlesarethrownawayintheUnitedStateseachyeartocircletheEarthfourtimes.

SolidWasteandLandfills

Aboutone‐thirdofanaveragedumpismadeupofpackagingmaterial!

Everyyear,eachAmericanthrowsoutabout1,200poundsoforganicgarbagethatcanbecomposted.

TheU.S.isthe#1trash‐producingcountryintheworldat1,609poundsperpersonperyear.Thismeansthat5%oftheworld'speoplegenerate40%oftheworld'swaste.

ThehighestpointinHamiltonCounty,Ohio(nearCincinnati)is"MountRumpke."ItisactuallyamountainoftrashattheRumpkesanitarylandfilltowering1045ft.abovesealevel.

TheUSpopulationdiscardseachyear16,000,000,000diapers,1,600,000,000pens,2,000,000,000razorblades,220,000,000cartires,andenoughaluminumtorebuildtheUScommercialairfleetfourtimesover.Speakingofdiapers,aclothdiaperwashedathomecosts3¢peruse.Adisposablediapercosts22¢peruse.Thedifferencecanaddup;atypicalbabywilluseabout10,000diapers!

Out of every $10 spent buying things, $1 (10%) goes for packaging that is thrown away. Packagingrepresentsabout65%ofhouseholdtrash.

Onaverage,itcosts$30pertontorecycletrash,$50tosendittothelandfill,and$65to$75toincinerateit.

Although75%ofourtrashcanberecycled,theEPAsetanationalgoalof25%for1992.

ThefirstrealrecyclingprogramwasintroducedinNewYorkCityinthe1890s.Thecity'sfirstrecyclingplantwasbuiltin1898.

By1924,83%ofAmericancitieswereseparatingsometrashitemstobereused.

Between5and15%ofwhatwethrowawaycontainshazardoussubstances.

MiscellaneousRecyclingFacts

Rainforestsarebeingcutdownattherateof100acresperminute!

Asinglequartofmotoroil,ifdisposedofimproperly,cancontaminateupto2,000,000gallonsoffresh

water.

Motoroilneverwearsout,itjustgetsdirty.Oilcanberecycled,re‐refinedandusedagain,reducingourrelianceonimportedoil.

Everyweekabout20speciesofplantsandanimalsbecomeextinct!

McDonald'ssaves68,000,000poundsofpackagingperyearjustbypumpingsoftdrinksyrupdirectlyfromthedeliverytruckintotanksintherestaurant,insteadofshippingthesyrupincardboardboxes!

ThelargestenvironmentalorganizationintheworldistheNationalWildlifeFederation.Ithas5,600,000members!

One‐thirdofthewaterusedinmosthomesisflusheddownthetoilet.

Youcanwalk1milealonganaveragehighwayintheUnitedStatesandseeabout1,457piecesoflitter.

TheWashington,DC‐basedInstituteForLocalSelf‐Reliancecalculatesthatrecyclingcreates36jobsper10,000tonsofmaterialrecycledcomparedto6jobsforevery10,000oftonsbroughttotraditional

disposalfacilities.

Atypicalfamilyconsumes182gallonsofpop,29gallonsofjuice,104gallonsofmilk,and26gallonsofbottledwaterayear.That'salotofcontainers‐‐makesurethey'rerecycled!

FIVEBESTREASONSTORECYCLE:

1) Naturalresources‐recyclingwillsaveourmuchneededresources.2) Energy‐recyclingwillsaveourmuchneededenergy.3) Cleanairandwater‐recyclingwillpreservethesepreciouselements.4) Landfillspace‐recyclingwillsavethelandfillsfromoverflowing.5) MONEY‐isthemostimportant.Recyclingcancreatelotsofnewjobs.

Sources

http://www.zerowasteamerica.org/Statistics.htmhttp://www.visy.com.au/http://earth911.com/ Wikipedia EncyclopediaFormoreinformationontheimportanceofrecyclingfollowtheselinks:AluminumRecyclingPrices

CopperRecyclingPrices

RecycleCarpet

RecyclingCellPhones

RecycleClipArt

RecyclingLead

RecyclingMetals

RecyclingOldComputers

PalletRecycling

RecyclingPaper

PETRecycling

RecyclingPlasticBottles

RecyclePlastics

StyrofoamRecycling

RecyclingTires

RecyclingWater

RecyclingForKids

RecyclingProcess

RecyclingBenefits

RecyclingStatistics

RecyclingClipArt

RecyclingSlogans

InterestingRecyclingFacts

WhyisRecyclingImportant

HelptheEnvironmentbyRecycling

ReturnFromInterestingRecyclingFactstotheBenefitsofRecyclinghomepage.

TheserecyclingfactshavebeencompiledfromvarioussourcesincludingtheNationalRecyclingCoalition,theEnvironmentalProtectionAgency,andEarth911.org.Everyefforttoprovideaccurateinformationhasbeenmade,howeverthereisnoguaranteethatthefactspresentedhereareexactatthetimeofviewing.ThisdocumentwasgeneratedJuneof2014.

Forevenmoreinformationandadditionalrecyclingfacts,pleasevisitTheNationalRecyclingCoalition