Recycling basics to get you going

Turning a new leaf to becoming “green” can seem overwhelming. But we’re all adding to global warming by not recycling. Diverting materials from landfills and incinerators is easier than you think. Here are some tips and things to keep in mind when recycling:

Paper

• Paper can decompose in 2 to 5 months but not if it’s a plastic bag! The paper entombed inside the bag won’t decompose for at least twenty years – the approximate time it takes for the plastic to deteriorate.
• Paper accounts for almost half of what we send to landfills.
• If we Americans recycled just one tenth of the paper what we end up throwing in the trash, we could save 25 million trees a year.
• The average American uses seven trees a year in paper, wood, and other products made from trees. This amounts to about two billion trees per year.
• Separate paper into white office paper, newspaper, cardboard, and mixed-color paper, and tie each type separately. Don’t put it in a plastic bag!
• Each ton (2000 pounds) of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy, and 7000 gallons of water. This represents a 64% energy savings, a 58% water savings, and 60 pounds less of air pollution.
• The 17 trees saved can absorb a total of 250 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air each year. Whereas, burning that same ton of paper would create 1500 pounds of carbon dioxide!

Plastic

• It takes up to 250 years for a plastic cup to decompose – SCARY!
• Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour. Most of them are tossed in the trash!
• The number inside the center of the Universal Recycling Symbol (URS) - usually on the bottom of the item - indicates the recyclability of the plastic item. If there is no number, then the material is considered “generically recyclable.”
• At the moment, it’s only economically viable to recycle items with a URS triangle with the No. 1, but slowly technology is becoming available that is stretching the range of plastics that might be recyclable. And, many local recycling programs are taking advantage of these innovations so check to see if your town’s recycling program has expanded their efforts (and if they haven’t, get on them about that!)

Glass

• A glass bottle takes 4,000 years or more to decompose, or even longer if it’s in a landfill.
• Every month, we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a giant skyscraper. All of these jars are recyclable!
• The process of recycling glass (clear, green, and brown bottles, as well as broken glassware) uses substantially less energy and produces less carbon dioxide than manufacturing glass from scratch.
• Using recycled glass uses 40 percent less energy than making products from all new materials. Today, almost 22 percent of the glass we produce is recycled.

Aluminum

• It takes 500 years for an aluminum can to decay.
• Used aluminum beverage cans are the most recycled item in the U.S., but other types of aluminum, such as siding, gutters, car components, storm window frames, and lawn furniture can also be recycled.
• Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours -- or the equivalent of a half a gallon of gasoline.
• Because so many of them are recycled, aluminum cans account for less than 1% of the total U.S. waste stream, according to EPA estimates.
• Because so many of them are recycled, aluminum cans account for less than 1% of the total U.S. waste stream, according to EPA estimates.
• More than 20,000,000 Hershey’s Kisses are wrapped each day using 133 square miles of aluminum foil. All that foil is recyclable, but not many people realize it.

Fabric

• According to the EPA, Americans have dumped over 9 million tons of just about anything with a thread count into landfills nationwide.
• The best way to recycle fabric is to contribute your old duds to a charitable organization.

Electronic Waste

• Recycling just 1 million cell phones saves enough energy to power over 1,940 U.S.  households with electricity for one year.
• With an estimated 150 million cell phones sitting unused in homes and offices across the country waiting to be recycled or reused, there is the potential to offset the energy consumption of more than 291,000 households.
• Recycling 150 million phones would prevent 75,000 tons of e-waste from entering U.S. landfills, to the dramatic benefit of our environment.
• The EPA estimates that 29.9 million desktops and 12 million laptops were discarded in 2007. That’s over 112,000 computers discarded per day.
• In 2006, the U.S. generated 2.9 million tons of e-waste in the U.S. Of this amount, only 330,000 or 11.4% was recycled. The rest was trashed – in landfills and incinerators.
• To find e-waste recycling options near you, visit Earth911 or try E-cycling Central, a national database maintained by industry of local recycling opportunities. eRecycle.org lists additional options.
• Apple now offers a free U.S. recycling program for old computers and monitors — with the purchase of a new Mac. There is also a free iPod recycling program conducted through Apple's retail stores (earn a 10% discount). Additionally Apple has instituted a trade-in program for educational and business customers in the United States.
• In 2006, Apple recycled 13 million pounds of e-waste, and predicts that by 2010, it will be recycling 19 million pounds of e-waste per year.
• Other companies that offer electronic waste recycling include Dell, HP, Gateway, and Best Buy. Check their individual websites for details.

Note: When it comes to recyclables, to prevent critters, it’s fine to rinse your metal cans, glass and plastic containers. But you don’t have to go crazy – the heat used during the recycling process deals with many contaminants.

And remember: If you include some unrecyclable items in your bin, the entire batch may be re-routed to the nearest trash dump. Just to be on the safe side, check out our article “Thought you could recycle that pizza box? Think Again."  

Sources: These recycling facts have been compiled from various sources including the National Recycling Coalition, the Environmental Protection Agency, The Daily Green, Tree Hugger, and Earth911.org.