Recycling Facts

Recycling is important because the energy used to recycle a product is less than the energy used to create something new. Our health also benefits from recycling, as it removes pollution and harmful substances from the waste stream. This is not all; we have to remember that the raw materials on Earth will not last for a lifetime, it is thus important to save them!

Paper

• Paper made from raw materials produce about 73% more air pollution that recycled paper.
• 250,000,000 trees can be saved each year if all our newspapers are recycled.
• Each week’s Sunday paper is responsible for the cutting down of 500,000 trees.
• 6% of a tree is used up to produce 500 sheets of paper.
• A single person uses paper products worth two pine trees every year.
• A simple gesture, like reusing a grocery bag for a shopping trip, can save about 60,000 trees.
• For every ton of recycled newspaper, we save 17 trees.

Water

• A simple act, like turning off the water faucet while brushing your teeth, can save 9 gallons of water.
• About 15% of the water in your house is used by your washing machine.
• Nearly 35 gallons of water is consumed during a 5-minute shower.
• About 40% of all the pure water in your house is flushed down the toilet.

Glass

• Glass that is dumped in the landfills will never decompose.
• Glass can be used again and again and is 100% recyclable.
• A 100-watt light bulb can burn for four hours by the energy saved from recycling one glass bottle.
• Recycling a bottle will cause 50% less water pollution and 20% less air pollution.
• A new glass food jar contains at least 35% recycled glass.

Plastic

• It can take plastic products up to 500 years to decompose.
• As many as 1,000,000 sea creatures can be killed by plastic bags and garbage that are thrown into the ocean.
• It is believed that Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles every year.
• It is better to recycle plastic that burn it in a furnace.
• Recycled plastics are later turned into toys, drainage pipes, sleeping bags and cassette casings.

Metals

• In just 6 weeks aluminum cans can be recycled and made ready for use.
• One aluminum can when recycled, can produce enough energy to run a TV set for three hours.
• An aluminum can, can be recycled many times.
• 1 pound of steel produces enough energy to run a 60-watt light bulb for more than a day.
• 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,000 of coal and 40 pounds of limestone are saved when 1 ton of steel is recycled.

Energy

• Tightening and insulating ducts can save around 10% or more of your heating or cooling cost.
• Energy, which is equivalent to 1,253 gallons of oil, are used by an average U.S. home every year.
• For small portions or defrosting, use microwaves as they use 50% less energy compared to conventional ovens.
• Nearly, 10% percent of the light emitted from a light bulb can be reduced because of dust.

More recycling facts

• Every minute, 100 acres of rainforest are being cut down.
• A baby on an average, generates a ton of garbage a year.
• Around 25,000,000,000 Styrofoam cups are thrown away every year.
• Each day, more than 20,000,000 Hershey’s Kisses are wrapped. This involves 133 square miles of tinfoil, which are actually recyclable. Unfortunately, not many people realize it.
• You will see about 1,457 pieces of litter, if you walk a mile along an average highway in the United States.